As scorching heat grips France, Paris’ Catacombs offer visitors a rare underground escape. At a steady 57°F, this centuries-old ossuary draws tourists seeking both history and relief.
The moment visitors step inside the Paris Catacombs, the hundred or so people who had been waiting outside in the shade of the trees put away their caps, sunglasses, and hand fans, swapping them for sweaters and jackets in hopes of escaping the oppressive summer heat.
Those dressed too lightly wrap their arms around themselves for warmth.
Beatriz came prepared for the chill of the ancient tunnels and quarry passages. “I once visited the Basilica Cistern in Istanbul—a massive underground water reservoir from the Byzantine era—and it was freezing. So today, I knew what to expect and brought my jacket,” says the 40-something from Argentina, who prefers not to give her last name.
Located beneath Place Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th arrondissement, the site was fully booked this Tuesday afternoon. Among its thousands of daily visitors, there are “many foreign tourists” and “some who still try their luck at the ticket office, hoping for last-minute cancellations from online reservations,” an attendant tells AFP.
Fourteen Degrees Celsius
Once inside this famous site—originally limestone quarries, transformed into a municipal ossuary in the 18th century—visitors are struck not only by the darkness, the walls of bones, and the occasional drops of water falling from the ceiling, but also by the ambient temperature. At 57°F, it’s a selling point for some, and a pleasant surprise for others.
“With this heat, it’s the perfect day to go 65 feet underground,” jokes Carl, 77, a German retiree visiting Paris who “prefers enclosed spaces” like this one, where the cool air “only adds to the experience of being in such a unique place.”
Farther along, in a long stone corridor dimly lit by a row of wall-mounted lamps, Nicholas, 42, is thrilled “to have somewhere a little cooler to go” in mid-August.
Amused by the contrast between shorts and sandals on some visitors and the sweaters or even coats on others, the man from Bristol, England, was determined to see this “unique and unusual place” alongside Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower during his stay in the French capital.
“It’s a place tourists love and are eager to visit. Rain or shine, it’s always packed,” observes another attendant near the end of the tour.
Once the summer rush is over, the Catacombs will close to the public for several months starting in autumn 2025 for major maintenance and conservation work, which began in 2023 and is set to continue until spring 2026. The route will be upgraded and a new display design is planned.
With AFP
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