Paris Cacophony and the Catacombs: A Silent Break Below the City
Updated: Oct 2
Paris did not whisper to us. Paris honked, braked, lurched, beeped, and then honked again for good measure. Sirens were going off every 10 minutes.
Every cab ride felt stressful, watching the meter climb as you barely moved. Buses squeezed into lanes that didn’t seem like lanes. Motorbikes cut through tiny gaps. Sirens came from every direction. Even when traffic wasn’t moving, the noise happened. There was always another horn, another impatient driver, another ambulance trying to carve a path through congestion.
So when we finally got a break to visit the Catacombs, the silence felt less creepy and more like a gift. That might sound strange. Most people hear about an underground ossuary filled with bones and think that it sounds spooky. I thought there'd be a hint of that going into it, but ultimately I was just relieved it was quiet down there.
Honestly, I’d rather be with bones underground than trapped in another traffic jam above it.
Expect Loud from Paris
I knew Paris would be busy. It’s one of the most visited cities in the world, and the streets weren’t exactly built for modern traffic. Still, knowing that and sitting inside it are two different things.
The city felt packed with vehicles. There's just way more traffic in a small space than you can imagine. By this point in the trip, I was so happy we hadn’t booked a private car. I had looked at options before we left, and the one I was considering was around €70 an hour. On paper, that sounds fair. In actual Paris traffic, I realized it would be like paying €70 an hour to sit still while listening to other cars honk.
That’s why our 6:15 pm Catacombs ticket felt perfectly timed. We weren’t just going to see a famous site. We were going underground to escape the volume of the city. Paris is loud, Paris is unsettling, Paris needs more calm spaces. Of course, one of those calm spaces is lined with skulls, but in this case I was comfortable with death.
Checking in for the Catacombs
We arrived for our 6:15 pm time slot and checked in. The whole thing felt organized in a way I deeply appreciated. There was a process and there was a limit on how many people could go in. Nobody was rushing us.
We were given headphones for the audio tour portion, which turned out to be really enlightening, albeit a little child friendly. The Catacombs are the kind of place where, without context, you’re just walking past bones and stone walls. With context, the space becomes part cemetery, part engineering story, part warning about what happens when a city grows too fast.
With the descent, we went down more than 100 steps, and with each turn of the staircase, Paris got farther away. The noise disappeared as soon as we put on the headphones. The horns and the sirens were gone and the whole activity felt more calm.
Tight Tunnels
The tunnels at the bottom were narrow, with low ceilings in places. I’m fairly tall, but I definitely noticed how enclosed it felt as I was following Dean. We walked slowly, partly because of the people in front of us and partly because the space made you slow down. There isn’t much room to rush in tunnels like those.
After a day of being carried around in traffic, it felt good to move our bodies. Slowly, yes, but still moving. It felt even freer than the Louvre. Despite not having any alternate routes, there was just enough space to recognize you were enjoying a break from the city above.
Why the Catacombs Exist
The history of the Catacombs is one of the reasons the visit was more interesting than I expected. The Paris Catacombs weren’t built as a spooky tourist attraction. They began as old limestone quarries beneath the city. Paris used that limestone for centuries to build above ground, which left a network of empty quarry tunnels below.
By the 18th century, Paris had overcrowded cemeteries. The Cemetery of the Holy Innocents, one of the city’s largest and oldest burial grounds, had been used for centuries and became a public health concern. According to official Catacombs museum information, authorities began transferring remains from Paris cemeteries into the former quarry tunnels in 1785.
The ossuary is said to hold the remains of around six million people. That number is hard to wrap your head around while standing there. It’s easier to notice one skull, then another, then the neat rows of femurs and skulls arranged into walls. But I believe it considering,the official route is only a small portion of the massive underground network beneath Paris.
What struck me most was how practical the whole origin story was. The Catacombs came from urban planning, public health, geology, and necessity. Paris above ground was crowded. Paris below ground had space. So the city made a decision that still feels unbelievable when you’re walking through it.
The Ossuary was Quiet, not Creepy
Within about 20 minutes of starting the walk, we reached the ossuary. The narration in my headphones stopped. I took in the part everyone talks about. The bones. The skulls. The carefully stacked walls. I expected to feel unsettled. Instead, I felt calm with a hint of sadness.
The skulls seemed remarkably small to me. It surprised me because I imagined they were children. Seeing skull after skull in such neat arrangements made everything feel artful, less like a horror movie and more like a place of memory. It was theatrical and somber.
People were reverent, too. Nobody around us was being loud or silly. There were no shrieking reactions, no one pushing to get the perfect photo. Everyone seemed to understand that the space asked for a different kind of behaviour.
From the moment the audio in my headphones stopped, there was nothing. No sirens. No honking. No voices. Just silence.
That was the moment the Catacombs gave us exactly what we needed. After a day of Paris noise pressing in from all sides, it felt strange and wonderful to stand underground with six million dead and think, this is the calmest I’ve felt all day.
Climbing Back Up to the City
Leaving meant climbing more than 100 steps back up.
The ascent was slow, but for once, slow didn’t bother me. No one behind us was pushing. Nobody seemed annoyed that the line wasn’t moving faster. We just climbed, step by step, spiraling back toward Paris.
Dean had over 5 lb. of rock from the Louvre in his backpack, which made the climb a little more ridiculous. I should explain that better, but the short version is that the man was carrying literal rocks from earlier in the day. So there we were, coming up from a bone-filled underground ossuary, with Dean hauling extra stone on his back.
At the top, we handed in our headphones and stepped outside. And just like that, Paris came roaring back. The living city, busy and impatient, right where we left it. We hailed a cab back to the hotel.
Our Glamourous Laundry Escapade
Back at the hotel, the evening took a very practical turn. We needed to do laundry. I insisted that we do it that night, because we wouldn't have the time the next morning. Actually, with all the Laveries in the city, a carry on is more practical than you'd imagine.
We found a nearby Laverie and walked over with our laundry. To make the whole thing feel less like a chore, we brought wine. If you have to spend part of your Paris night watching clothes go in circles, wine helps.
There was something funny about the contrast. A couple of hours earlier, we were walking through one of the most famous ossuaries in the world, thinking about centuries of Paris history. Then we were staring at washing machines, making sure we had enough clean socks for the next week.
Food also became a small crisis. We hadn’t planned dinner properly, and if we hadn’t managed to get karaage from a nearby restaurant, I don’t think we would’ve eaten anything that night. That crispy chicken saved us again on this trip. I made the joke that it might be all I'd eat the whole trip.
We finished the night early because we had a 9:00am walking tour the next morning.
How to Book the Catacombs
We booked our tickets direct from their website, because we didn't see the value of a guided tour. However, there were several happening on our visit there that evening. I'd recommend one if you want a more grounded and adult experience.
The headphone audio was a little theatrical and childish to my tastes. Also, the audio stopped almost as soon as we reached the ossuary, which would have been the most interesting part to hear live commentary about.
Here are some options that would have been more interesting:
Booking a time slot is definitely the way to go. There are not on site sales. Therefore, you have to book in advance. It's definitely more expensive to go with the special access tours than with the official website, but I believe live commentary and the opportunity to ask questions is priceless.
The Quietest Part of Paris
The Catacombs ended up being one of the most peaceful parts of our time in Paris.
Above ground, the city felt crowded and loud and constantly in motion. Below ground, even surrounded by human remains, there was order. I went in expecting something eerie. I left grateful for the silence.
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