The Père Lachaise Cemetery is the largest cemetery in Paris and one of the most famous in the world.
Located in the 20th arrondissement, in the eastern side of Paris, the cemetery, opened since 1804, has been enlarged several times and occupies now 44-hectares.
With more than 3 million visitors per year, the Père Lachaise Cemetery is the most visited cemetery in the world. You can visit it by yourself of course (the entrance is free obviously!) or you can book a guided tour to discover the secrets, anecdotes, unusual facts and legends of the cemetery.
Père Lachaise is well-known for its many famous personalities buried there, including Honoré de Balzac, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Frédéric Chopin, Molière, Edith Piaf, Alfred de Musset, Jean de La Fontaine, to name but a few.
You can witness preserved and well-maintained tombs and mausoleums adjoining abandoned graves and sepulchres. A stroll through Père Lachaise reminds us about the importance of being considerate of others. For example, here’s what you can read on one of the tombstones: “You are never quite gone, as long as there is someone out there who remembers you, talk about you from time to time, and thus bring you back to life for a moment”.
There are more than 70,000 graves and about a million bodies buried in Père Lachaise cemetery. You’ll definitely need a map to find your way among the tombs.
In the cemetery, you will find the tombs of:
- Musicians and singers, including Edith Piaf, Jim Morrison, Mano Solo, Chopin, Henri Salvador, Maria Callas, …
- Writers, including Molière, Jean de La Fontaine, Honoré de Balzac, Oscar Wilde, …
- Painters, including Delacroix, Ingres, Pissarro, …
- Actors, including Yves Montand, Marie Trintignant, Sarah Bernhardt, Annie Girardot, …
- Scientists and other important figures. But also, total strangers.
The Père Lachaise Cemetery is like a large park but exceptionally peaceful and without crowds. Wandering through its tree-lined cobblestone alleys, you will only hear the birds, and sometimes maybe, the shrill voices of some visitors, indicated that they have “found someone”.
Tips
• Download a map beforehand or get the cemetery map at the entrance (or take a photo of the map at the entrance). As stated above, a map is absolutely essential to find your way through the cemetery.
• Know that there are avenues and block numbers to locate yourself.
• The place is huge. Allow at least 3-4 hours.
• If you take the metro, take the line 3 and stop at Gambetta station, instead of Père Lachaise station. Gambetta station is higher up, so you’ll start at the top and work your way down.
• Graves are inside the blocks, sometimes several rows deep; the tomb you may be looking for may not be ‘up-front’ on the lane (ex: the tomb of Edith Piaf).
• Last but not least, wear comfortable shoes.
Price? Free. Guided tours available. To know more, visit this Website: https://pere-lachaise.com/en/
Where? Entrances at 8 boulevard Menilmontant (main entrance), at 16 porte du Repos, at 114 rue de la Reunion, at 71 rue des Rondeaux and 28 boulevard de Menilmontant.
Access? Gambetta station (Metro Lines 3 and 3b).
When? Every day from 8am (8:30am on Saturdays & 9am on Sundays) to 5:30pm (6pm in spring and summer).
Book your Père Lachaise experience
You visited this place? Share your pic on Instagram, mention @paris_kathmandu & tag #paris_kathmandu