The underground of Paris

Actually, I am most of the day beneath Paris, or at least if feels like it. The Metro is mostly in the underground and also, when changing you have large underground tunnels. Sometimes I am thinking you can spend the whole day in the underground. I am walking and driving more in these tunnels than in the sunlight, I almost feel like a vampire or an ork from Lord of the Rings. Sometimes it has advantages, for example, when it is raining or it is really windy, but most of the time it is just sad. You don’t see anything and I would prefer it a lot to see beautiful Paris, while driving to university. Many times, I get onto the Metro, and half an hour later, when I get off, it is pitch-black, when before the sun was shining.

But now something completely different. There is another place beneath Paris, where people are excited about visiting it and where I also have been looking forward to going for a long time: The catacombs of Paris.

For sure, you should bring enough time to visit them, as you can wait to enter for hours. Every day loads of people want to visit the catacombs and sometime you will be sent away to come back tomorrow, because they are already fully booked. There Is only a limited amount of people allowed inside the catacombs, because of security reasons, I think it was 200. Visiting itself also takes about one hour and under the earth you lose fast every sense of time. It felt like a lot less than one hour.

When entering, you first have to climb down 130 steps and then you will arrive in the old corridors. People, who are afraid of small places should be aware of the low ceilings and the narrow corridors. But the bright lights take every canny feeling and together with the many tourists, you cannot be afraid. But, I found it a bit sad, that the atmosphere was so touristic and not a bit more creepy. The corridors are well signed and you even have doors that close the forbidden paths, so you cannot get lost. In the 12th century, stones were taken from here to build Paris. This is how the 400 km! Of corridors underneath Paris were created. Yes, you really shouldn’t get lost here, you might never see the daylight ever again.

The way signed out for the tourists is about 2 km, which is in comparison rather short. The paths even have names for better orientation. Until today, you can see the signs of the mining at the ceilings and you find a lot of explanations alongside the walls. At the beginning, you will see some cities carved in stone, which should, apparently, be famous cities (I didn’t know them, which doesn’t mean anything). Then, you will come to a well, which contains water from a depth of several kilometers, and a wall, where a lot of tourists have written their names. I really cannot understand, why anyone should do this and so destroy cultural heritage. You will pass through a well-constructed corridor and will find some geological explanations and different stones and other findings.

Now, we will come to the most interesting part! There is a sign, which says: Arrête! C’est ici l’Empire de la Mort (Stop! Here is the empire of the dead), where I had to think about The Lord of the Rings and the Ghost Knights. This part is a bit more canny, because you really enter the empire of the dead. 600 Million skeletons have been brought here from the crowded cemeteries of Paris. The skeletons are arranged by cemetery and always identified with the name of the cemetery and the year of the transportation. They are stacked in perfect order and also artistically sorted into patterns. This was done, because it saves space, but often you will see crosses, nice frames and one time they even formed a heart out of skulls, which I think is a bit macabre. Everywhere, you can read saying in French and Latin about death and dying. In this part of the catacombs the ceiling is even lower and the air is really humid, which adds a bit to the canny feeling of the whole situation. The temperature stays the same all year at about 14 degrees.

Your way will continue to a fire pot, which was used in old times for stimulating the air circulation down there. Without stimulation, there would be almost no circulation. There are some more graves, long corridors, large halls with nigh ceilings and then you will “already” be heading back up to the daylight. 83 steps upstairs. On the website a moderate fitness level is suggested and also no visits with heart or respiration problems. If I hadn’t known the amount of steps, I might have panicked. The staircase is so narrow, the ceiling so low and it feels like you will never find an end with the winding steps. My friend was a big help saying: “Imagine, this is the only way out, what is if something happens and all people have to be evacuated…” Thank you, that was a helpful thought…

I really have to say that I expected the catacombs differently, I cannot even tell how. Maybe a bit cannier? Maybe less bright? I don’t know… But, it was exciting and I recommend it everyone, who is staying several days in Paris and can spare some time of enjoying our precious daylight.

My father, who visited me and had to listen to all my stories said to me: “Watch out, that the French will end like the dwarfs in The Lord of the Rings. ” I answered: “What do you mean? That they dig too deep and will awaken a fire demon? ”. He said: "I only meant that they dig too deep and everything will collapse. "

But who knows what the French might awaken in the depth. So, have a lot of fun in the underground of Paris.

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