Day 17 in Paris: Old Bones in the Catacombs

On our 17th day in Paris, we visited the Catacombs. There’s a formal name for this which eludes me, because this is actually a cemetery of sorts.

It was created in the late 1700’s when overcrowding at the graveyards which traditionally surrounded each church became a serious health problem. The catacombs were a network of underground tunnels originally created as builders mined for stone for more buildings.

Each of the graveyards was transferred to a specific section of the catacombs and marked, so if you know where your loved ones were originally buried, you’d be able to find their new subterranean home, too. There are 6-7 millions Parisians in the catacombs.

It’s rather creepy. I’m glad we went, for the historical value, but for the most part, this photo shows you pretty much all you’ll see.

Oh, and you’re looking at my photo for Day 187 of Project 365.

For more on our trip to Paris, read Joan’s travel blog and check out our Memolane story.