A cemetery is not usually associated with a romantic stroll , yet this is exactly what happens when you visit the Pere-Lachaise in Paris . Confined to a corner of north-eastern Paris, the cemetery is affectionately called by Parisians “The City of the Dead”: among its picturesque hills, thousands of trees, suggestive paths and very elaborate graves and graves, it is not difficult to understand why the cemetery of the Pere-Lachaise is considered the most beautiful and sought-after resting place in Paris and in the world. Countless illustrious personalities have found their eternal resting place here, their tombstone of immortality, ensuring hundreds of thousands of visitors every year and making Pere-Lachaise an absolute must in Paris.
Here is everything you need to know to organize your visit to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery : how to get there, prices and advice!
SEE ALSO : What to see in Paris
Where it is and how to get there
Main entrance
- On foot : at 8 Boulevard de Menilmontant – Get directions
- By bus : Roquette-Pere Lachaise stop, lines 61, 69, 71, N16 and N34 pass
- By metro : Philippe Auguste stop, line 2 passes through
Entrata “Gate of Rest”
- Walking: in16 rue du repos – Get directions
- By bus : Roquette-Pere Lachaise stop, lines 61, 69, 71, N16 and N34 pass
- By metro : Philippe Auguste stop, line 2 runs
Entrata “Gate of the Almond Trees”
- On foot : Boulevard de Menilmontant – Get directions
- By bus : Pere Lachaise stop, lines 61, 69, 71, N16 and N34 pass through
- By metro : Pere-Lachaise stop, lines 2 and 3 pass through
NB : this entrance is not wheelchair accessible as it has 30 steps
. “Porte Gambetta” entrance
- Walking : 71 rue des Rondeaux – Get directions
- By bus : reference stop Martin Nadaud, lines 26, 60, 61, 69, 102, N16 and N34 pass through
- By metro : Gambetta stop, lines 3 and 3b pass
Entrata “Gate of Reunion”
- On foot : at 218 Rue de la Reunion – Get directions
- By bus : La Reunion stop, line 76 runs
- By metro : Alexandre Dumas stop, line 2 runs
Timetables and prices
- Hours: from November to mid-March Mon-Fri 8: 00-17: 30, Sat 8: 30-17: 30, Sun and holidays 9: 00-17: 30. From mid-March to October, Mon-Fri 8: 00-18: 00, Sat 8: 30-18: 00, Sun and holidays 9: 00-18: 00
- Best time to avoid queues : around opening hours in the morning, but the place is never really crowded
- Ticket cost: free
Tours, guided visits and online tickets
What to see and how to visit the Pere Lachaise
Cemetery The Pere Lachaise Cemetery, also known as the “Cemetery of the artists” welcomes personalities of art, literature, music and painting, theater , with names of the caliber of Chopin, Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison.
It would take a whole week to visit the whole cemetery and to pay homage to all the characters buried there but, however fascinating, moving and evocative the place may be, let’s face it: a week at the cemetery, be it the Pere -Lachaise, do not wish it to anyone! To make the most of the time available for the visit, we therefore recommend that you take part in a guided tour of the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery, in which you will be accompanied by a guide who will take you to discover the must-sees in about 2 hours.
In the meantime, we tell you which are the 5 tombs not to be missed in Pere-Lachaise:
Abelardo (1079 – 1142) and Eloisa (1101 – 1164)
Photo by Alexandre Lenoir. Born practically a millennium ago, they are the protagonists of an absolutely remarkable and timeless history, and are among other things the oldest residents of the cemetery .
Abelard founded a school which would later become the University of Paris and which would welcome brilliant minds from all over Europe, including Eloisa, the granddaughter of the Canon of Notre Dame. Abelard was charged with giving private lessons to the girl, and the intellectual understanding unleashed a deep and indissoluble love. They left Paris to get married in secret, and a year later Eloisa gave birth to Astrolabe. The news ran quickly, reaching the woman’s powerful uncle who, in a rage, sent a group of thugs who punished Abelard with castration. From that moment they were separated and forced to exchange love letters for decades.
Upon their death, they were buried together. The present tomb of the Pere Lachaise emade with stones from the monastery and the convent where the two lovers lived until their death. The figure of the dog at Abelard’s feet represents their absolute mutual loyalty.
Edith Piaf (1915-1963)
Photo by Pierre-Yves Beaudouin. The story of Edith Piaf is the story of a little girl who grew up on the streets of Paris , her grandmother’s brothel and her father’s traveling circus.
The little girl sang in the streets for a few coins under the pseudonym of “La Mome Piaf” (the little sparrow), when the owner of a night club, hearing her, was entranced by her voice and by the emotional charge she transmitted. Her life was very troubledand she also had to face a very young pregnancy, a murdered husband and a complicated relationship with Yves Montand.
Her voice kept company and raised the morals of a France occupied by the Nazis and, decades later, her song La Vie en Rose is still among the best known and most reproduced themes of international music. Her daughter Marcelle Dupont is buried with her.
Marcel Proust (1871-1922)
Photo by Paul Louis. Marcel Proust gave the whole of humanity his autobiographical masterpiece “In search of lost time”: 7 volumes and over 3,000 pages in which to get lost, confused, fall in love and improve.
Streams of consciousness and memories that in an amazing way start from the tasting of a biscuit: the memory of Proust’s childhood starts from the madeleines and the pages of a masterpiece that has marked the literature of yesterday, today and forever begin.
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)
Writer, artist and homosexual martyr, Oscar Wilde was able to scandalize the England of his time. The plays of the playwright are still considered true ironic masterpieces , capable of surprising but above all making the whole well-thinking society of every era reflect.
The choice of this funeral monument over Oscar Wilde’s tomb aroused several controversies , as his supporters wanted it to represent his much loved works. Apparently, the sculptor Jacob Epstein was inspired by Wilde’s “The Sphinx”.
Jim Morrison (1943-1971)
Photo by Steve Soper. Myth, commercial phenomenon, icon of crowds, American rock star but above all a poet, his is the most visited tomb in the cemetery . The bust representing him, placed at the foot of the tombstone, is constantly stolen by adoring fans, who visit him at any time of day or night. Jim Douglas Morrison’s grave is decorated with the inscriptions and prayers of fans , from those who believe he is still alive to those who exalt his immortality with letters, flowers and gifts of all kinds.
In Paris he spent the last year of his life writing notes and poetrybetween Cafe de Flore and Led Deux Magots. He died in Paris on July 3, 1971, at the age of 27, probably torn himself from a life no longer controllable and led by his excesses to the inevitable resolution of his existence. The director of the Pere Lachaise initially refused his admission to the cemetery: when he was told he was a writer, he asked to read his compositions by him.
Useful tips for visiting the attraction
- Get up early : the ideal would be to reach the entrance around opening hours, especially to visit the most famous tombs calmly and quietly
- Book a guided tour : we recommend that you visit the cemetery with a guided tour. It will allow you to know (without getting lost) the stories and burials of the most illustrious characters, with real gems that you would otherwise miss
- Minimum time : we recommend that you consider a minimum of 2 hours for the visit
- Equip yourself with a map : the cemetery is huge and scattered, some graves are not even well marked or easy to locate. You can download the map here
- Behavior: this is a cemetery where many people are buried, therefore a behavior appropriate and respectful of the place in which you are located is required, avoiding screams or disrespectful behavior
Historical notes, curiosities and practical information: what to know in brief
The famous French cemetery that every year welcomes common people and famous people for eternal rest takes its name from the confessor of Louis XIV : Father Francois d’Aix de La Chaise.
The cemetery is a unique architectural work of its kind, a real open-air funeral art museum where Haussmannian vaults, Gothic tombs, ancient mausoleums, works of the Second Empire, neoclassical buildings, sculptures of all styles alternate between of them in a harmonious way. The most famous necropolis in the world covers a total of 48 hectares and totals no less than seventy thousand concessions.
Despite its beauty and fame, the Pere Lachaise cemeteryit almost never has queues at the entrance , so you can visit it at any time of the day. In addition, the different entrances allow people to flow faster. Choose which one to enter based on where you arrive or which attraction you have visited previously.
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