u/countofmonterizzto

i recently got to go down to the catacombs for the first time while studying in paris. i’ve been obsessed with them for years, since i was a child, so it was really a dream come true. it was just me and two other clueless students (we were all from american colleges, and only i spoke french) who i invited just so i wasn’t alone, and they really didn’t know anything, so i was in charge of guiding them. we also had the most recent map i could find both digitally and in print, though it became useless quickly.

i’d been told not to go down without a guide, but i’m an extremely cautious person and planned a route (which we didn’t stick to due to map issues) and also noted every single turn we made and the landmarks we could use to return. i made sure my group had extra batteries for headlamps (which i had bought for them), charged phones, water, etc. i forbade our party from going down any very flooded galleries or those with very low ceilings, and from doing stupid things like climbing a tall ladder we found up to a manhole.

we just traversed the galleries for around an hour and a half. we didn’t find the room i was hoping to, but i still had a great time. exited the same way we went in since i didn’t have a reliable source for another way out. it was very wet since we were on the left bank just after rainfall and i had to board a plane the next day with my shoes still soaked.

even though we were really just walking around, i had a great time. as soon as i crawled back out i knew i would have to come back. i will be returning to paris in a few months to study again and definitely am going to return to the catacombs. i’m certainly not an expert but if you have any questions i would love to talk more about the experience since it has left such an impression on me.