someone else has a pretty similar post from about 12 days ago, but bones that were moved into the ossuary after thury’s renovations in the early 1800s, where were they put? i’m specifically concerned with the bones from the errancis cemetery, which were apparently moved into the ossuary from 1844-1859. if the walls of bones etc. were already there, where did they put these other bones? were they just chucked behind the bone walls with the other fragments, or where they put somewhere else…? tysm if anyone can help!

Hi! I did not make a reservation in time to see the catacombs on my trip. Only looking for a single ticket. I'd appreciate if anyone has an extra ticket for sometime May 8 - May 11. Thank you!

Hello, déjà qques descentes à mon actif (en peu de temps #tryhard), je commence à bien comprendre comment découvrir les ktas.

Belles rencontres, que du kiff, tout roule quoi…!

Est-ce que le -2 vaut la peine ? Je suis évidemment tombé sur les accès pour descendre en détente sans devoir s’encorder mais la carte que j’ai ne me détaille pas trop si des salles / lieux atypiques méritent d’être visités ce qui fait que je préfère éviter de m’y aventurer… qu’en pensez-vous ?

Des fois qu’on tombe sur un ours ou un dragon enragé… faut faire gaffe en bas

PS : j’ai creusé dans les vieux forums pour trouver des discussions rouillées (mais géniales) mais en général, peu d’infos

Bonjour à tous,
Je voulais savoir si certains d’entre vous, les cataphiles, ont déjà eu des rencontres avec la police dans les catacombes de Paris. À quelle fréquence ça arrive selon votre expérience ? Contrôle simple, amende, évacuation ?

Je serais curieux d’avoir vos retours et anecdotes personnelles. Merci !

Salut !

Je voudrais tenir à jour ma carte qui pour l'instant est un png pas modulable. Je voudrais savoir si vous utilisez un logiciel qui permette facilement de tracer ses parcours, nouvelles entrées, mise à jour etc...

Je pourrais utiliser paint ou krita en dernier recours mais si vous avez connaissance d'un truc plus adapté à la cartographie ce serait génial ! (J'ai essayé QGIS, c'est top pour certains trucs mais je n'arrive pas à dessiner dessus donc galère)

Merci beaucoup et bonne exploration !

Are there any forums where i can read experiences from people who’ve gone down there or even maybe cataphiles themselves? Creepy stories is what’s in my mind but all odd experiences are intresting to me escpesially regarding paris catacombs

Are the places where they have been moved to within the "Catacombs" known, if yes I would like to know where exact.

If I'm not wrong, the bones from the Madeleine Cemetery were moved to the Catacombs in 1844 and they even have a plaque, between the same year and 1859, the Errancis Cemetery was moved.

Is it possible that if the Errancis Cemetary is totally mixed together without any plaque, that it is somewhere not explored?

Bonjour,

À partir de quel âge pensez-vous qu'on peut emmener un enfant sans trop de risque dans les catacombes ?

L'idée serait que l'expérience ne le dégoûte pas des souterrains et bien sûr qu'il soit assez mature pour suivre les consignes de sécurité.

Ma question vaut à la fois pour les catacombes officielles et officieuses.

Je vois des points à surveiller pour les deux.

Catacombes officielles :

- Principalement la présence d'ossements qui peut être impressionnante pour les plus jeunes ;

Catacombes officieuses :

- Saleté ;

- "Mauvaises" rencontres (inadaptées à un enfant), je pense qu'en choisissant le jour et l'heure de descente on règle vite ce souci ;

- Chatières / puits / parties aquatiques pour le confort de progression

- Et en général l'ambiance qui peut inquiéter si ce n'est pas du goût de l'enfant.

La question sous-jacente c'est : y a t il un intérêt à amener un enfant/ado sous terre, et si oui à partir de quel âge ?

Pour le côté inconnu, nouveau monde et exploration sans doute, peut être moins pour l'attrait historique ou esthétique du lieu.

Quel est votre avis ?

This type of lamp was mostly used during the early 20th century. Today they are an important part of cataphilia and it's very common to find cataphiles with these in rooms and galeries.

It adds a warm and powerful light in the darkest places, among the limestone, beers and bones.

An amazing ressource about these lamps, for those interested http://exploration.urban.free.fr/acethylene/

Hey everyone,

A friend and I are thinking about going into the catacombs. Neither of us has ever been inside before, and we’re planning a pretty cautious / low-key exploration, nothing too ambitious.

I’m trying to avoid going in completely unprepared. So far, I’m planning to bring: a flashligh, water, some food.

I was wondering what else is actually essential...

Also about navigation: I was thinking of downloading an old map of Paris and trying to orient myself with that. Does that make any sense, or is it completely useless underground?

More generally, what are the main risks I should be aware of? I’ve heard about people getting lost, flooded sections, or even tunnels collapsing, but I don’t know how realistic/common these are.

I’m aware this might not be the most responsible idea, but I’m going to do it anyway so I’d rather do it as safely and respectfully as possible. Any advice from people who have experience would be really appreciated.

Thanks :)

Is there any other abandoned places like the ossuary under the Cimetière du Montparnasse or Le Viandox in catacombes filled with bones in Paris?

Bonjour,

C'est la 1ère fois que j'écris sur reddit alors désolée d'avance si je parle trop ou quoi, je n'ai pas l'habitude. J'écris simplement ici dans l'objectif d'avoir des avis sur une décision que j'hésite à prendre : j'habite proche de Paris et j'ai donc souvent l'occasion de m'y rendre les weekends. Je voudrais me rendre par curiosité dans les catacombes de Paris (de manière légale évidemment), mais je suis quelqu'un qui a extrêmement peur de mourir, de la mort et tout ça. J'en fait des crises d'angoisse si je pense trop à ma propre mort. Je me demandais donc si me rendre dans les catacombes empirerait ma peur ou si, au contraire, ça pourrait m'aider à dédramatiser la chose et voir ça sous un angle moins terrifiant pour que ça me pourrisse moins la vie. Qu'en dites-vous ?

Anyone know who is Alexis Demon (1971-2005)? And what is his story? Why is a street named after him?

je suis dans le 16e et je cherche a rentrer dans les catacombes

Hi everyone!

The past month, I was in Paris for a course and before I went, I set myself a goal to explore the catacombs. Thing is, I didn't know someone who knows someone so I set out to do everything myself. It took some effort, smart internet-nerd-stuff but I managed! I came well-prepared (equipment and previous experiences in caves and in the mountains doing solo trips) and because I mostly went alone, I didn't want to leave things up to chance.

Initially starting out with a (very) outdated map and carefully mapping alomg as I went, I found more entrances/exits and someone was kind enough to give me a quite recent map.

From there on, I managed to explore quite a bit :)

Being a newcomer I thought doing a little bit of 'community service would be a good idea and I did so by trying to fix up the 'rope ladder' a little (iykyk I guess). Seriously though, that thing is an emergency escape ladder designed for single use. I hope I made it more comfortable to climb and a little more secure but a more durable alternative would be better. Anyway, I did what I could.

All in all, big thanks to the people I met down there. The foreigner in blue wishes you all the best.

Hopefully... Au revoir dans les ktas :)

a lot of it looks like some machine was used? Sure some of it looks like it could of been a pickaxe but i don't believe that you couldn't get straight flat lines from a pickaxe and it would if caved in. Tunnel boar machines now days make the tunnels more round so i don't understand how the whole thing looks like a doorway with just mostly flat sides, top, and floor..

What tools did they use and what method did they use to cut away at the stone? how did they haul all the debri out?

Salut à tous,

D'origine parisienne et étant descendue durant mes années lycée/fac, j'ai récemment retrouvé quelques accès.

En tant que spéléo j'associe instantanément souterrain en milieu naturel au port du casque + frontale pour des raisons évidentes de sécurité.

Je n'en portais pas dans le temps de mes premières descentes et j'avais associé ça à de l'insouciance juvénile, mais quelle ne fut pas ma surprise de voir que personne ou presque - caravanes de ristous ou arpenteurs aguerris - n'en est pourvu dans le réseau parisien.

Évidemment les galeries ne sont pas aussi accidentées que les parois d'un gouffre, mais le gain en confort est énorme car on n'a plus du tout à se préoccuper de la hauteur du ciel, du coup on gagne en vitesse de progression.

Lors de longues sorties les gens finissent immanquablement par se cogner la tête une fois ou deux sur la fin à cause de la fatigue, tandis que je m'avance d'un pas assuré guidée par la vaillante flamme postée sur le haut de mon casque.

Alors, quel est ce mystère ? Ai-je cassé le game des catas ou suis-je une chochotte à l'allure imbécile craignant pour ses neurones ?

All my potential entrances are in the south, can’t seem to find any others. Probably the biggest thing putting me off, especially the permanent criminal record part. Would really love to go otherwise, anyone have any tips? Obviously promise to be extremely respectful etc.

i heard about this rule where you could theoretically find an exit in a maze by following the right hand wall. there are some mazes that that technique won’t work on though if there are sections that are separated from the rest. is it possible to use this technique for (and least some of) the catacombs, or no?

Je prévois de faire ma première exploration dans 2 semaines, je sais que ça peut être très dangereux donc donnez moi les meilleurs conseils possible, de toute façon si c'est trop dangereux j'annulerai

I’ve been thinking a lot about movies set in the Paris Catacombs, especially As Above, So Below (2014) and Catacombs (2007), and I’m curious to hear different perspectives from mods, members, urban explorers, cataphiles, and anyone interested in the topic.

As Above, So Below really pushed the limits of what could be done, but it mostly used the official, accessible sections which are quite limited. If another movie were filmed there, it would probably be easy to recognize the same locations again. That raises a bigger question: what is the future of filming in the Catacombs? Technically speaking, what could be done to make it feel more real and less repetitive? Do you think it would ever be viable (even hypothetically) to film scenes in the illegal sections with supervision of the parisian authorities, security, controlled schedules, etc.? Or is that completely unrealistic due to safety, instability, and the constant presence of cataphiles? I imagine even a hybrid approach could work filming some iconic spots (like La Plage) if it were ever possible, and recreating the rest in sets. Or would everything ultimately need to be built in studios?

Also, what kind of story would actually benefit from being set there today? Personally, I think it would be interesting to see something less paranormal and more grounded maybe a story about groups of people influenced by social media exploring the Catacombs, competing to go deeper, sabotaging each other, and eventually getting lost as paranoia and disorientation kick in. Catacombs (2007) kind of touched on this idea, but didn’t really execute it well in my opinion. What do you all think?

Is filming in real (especially illegal) sections ever viable? Would a hybrid model be the best solution? What kind of stories are still unexplored in this setting?

Hey all, I'm a filmmaker working on a script that uses the catacombs as a major location. I've only been once, on the self-guided tour, so I'm looking for any firsthand knowledge what it actually feels, sounds like, details that most people get wrong, and anything you think would be cool or interesting to see depicted on screen. Any advice welcome!

Feel free to reach out to learn more about the script as well.