 | Paris Cemeteries & Other Resting Places Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 131 |  |
Cimetière de Montmartre is a place unlike any other in Paris. First, in order to like this place, you have to like cemeteries (duh!). Second, you must adore the sight of goose bumps on your skin and the feel of chills along your spine. Third, you are definitely crazy about black cats with furtive looks about them.
If you happen to possess all the requirements and you have some free time on your hand, then, my friend: Let me take you down. 'Cause I'm going to cemetery fields. Nothing is real. And plenty to get hung about. Cemetery fields forever! (I am sorry for being a clown and stealing your beautiful words, John.)
Just a block off Boulevard de Clichy, the cemetery first opened up like a small park, green and peaceful. Zola's resting place was lovely, thank you. After Berlioz' grave, though, we were lost and the place started to become a bit leery. Vegetation growing out from and clinging to the tombstones did not help to ease our feeling; the wild branches looked strangely like tentacles. All of a sudden, the temperature dropped. Perhaps it was just the typical Paris' unpredictable weather, but there was something in the air that made me think otherwise.
While looking for Fragonard's final resting place, we became disoriented. The hair in my back stood up when the cats (all of them black) appeared and disappeared between the rows of tombstones. Charles had never met a cat he did not love, so he called out to them and followed them deeper and deeper into the jungle of homes for the departed, while I was trying desperately to find a way out. Then, just as suddenly as when we got lost, we turned around a corner and found ourselves walking toward the guard. He blew a whistle, indicating the cemetery was about to close.
The last street that led us out to the gate was as pleasant as a walk in the park, lined with weathered statues and well-kept graves. The sky was clear, the air was calm, visiting hour was over, and we found ourselves back to Pigalle in the thick of the adult entertainment world! Leave a Comment Other Contact: Métro: Place de Clichy |
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The Mont Valerien is in the close suburbs of Paris (Suresnes) and it is a hill like Montmartre.
It was known to have many natural springs, some made miracles.
During the Middle Age, some hermits settled there. During the 17e century, the Pere Charpentier disturbed them putting 3 crosses in order to create a pilgrimage. It was closer from Paris than St Jacques de Compostel and the pilgrims going back home were allowed to stop and drink the Suresnes wine (a wineyard still exists).
In 1840, a huge fortress was built there to protect Paris. It was used as a prison during WW II.
The fortress is still on duty for communications and it can be visited only on request and during the "Journees du Patrimoine" in September . It shettles the last military pigeons (with 2 guys) and a pigeon museum. French army has bought now wireless radios, you know...
Nearby, there are an American military cemetary, a resistance memorial , a panoramic view point, a fitness park and a very good restaurant (Jardins de Camille : on my Restaurant page).
To reach Mont Valerien : RER to La Defense, then bus. Street parking easy. Leave a Comment |
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Cimetiére du Pére Lachaise is an incredible cemetery that has lots and lots of gigantic tombstones which makes it look like a small town of it's own.
One of the most 'popular' and famous graves are the one of Jim Morrison (1943-1971).
More than 30 years since his dead, you'll still find fresh flowers and candles on his graves everyday as well as you might see fans of his music standing there crying even though they were might not even born when he took his own life.
In top of that you'll find small shops near the cemetery whee you can buy all kinds of Jim Morrison souveniers, candles pictures and so on.
I've heard that some crazy fans enter the cemetery at night to party at Morrison's grave, and that's why it's guarded by a heavy fence at the top of the walls surrounding it. As the photo proves some people still try to find a way in!
This cemetery is worth a visit, and so it's official website where you can take a virtual tour.... Leave a Comment |
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This large cemetery in the 20th arrondissement is popular with tourists because some famous people are buried here. If you go in at the main entrance you can get a map to help you find the graves of people like Gioacchino Rossini, Maria Callas, Édith Piaf, Oscar Wilde or Jim Morrison, and also to help you find your way out again.
I think one of the graves in this photo might be where the dramatist Pierre Augustin Caron De Beaumarchais (1732-1799) was buried (yes, the author of The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro), but the inscriptions are quite weathered so I'm not sure.
Boulevard de Ménilmontant
48°51'45.41" North; 2°23'37.42" East
Métro: Philippe Auguste Leave a Comment |
Comte's cardinal position was this: "The greatest problem, then, is to raise social feeling by artificial effort to the position which in the natural condition is held by selfish feeling." To which Sir James Fitzjames Stephen responded, "To me this is like saying, the great object of mechanics is to alter the laws of gravitation." [See Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (1873) (University of Chicago Press, 1991) at p. 126.]
What underlies any government plan to "improve" the social condition is the philosophy of positivism. It aims to crush individuals in the pursuit of the impossible task of changing human nature. As John Stuart Mill was to write:
"M. Comte, in particular, whose social system, as unfolded in his Systeme de Politique Positive, aims at establishing (though by moral more than by legal appliances) a despotism of society over the individual, surpassing anything contemplated in the political ideal of the most rigid disciplinarian among the ancient philosophers." (On Liberty.) Leave a Comment |
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At the Père Lachaise Cemetery, located at the Père Lachaise (Blue #2 Metro) North Bank east from Central Paris.
As you walk out of this metro station, follow the signs. I got there at about 9am. It was open and as you walk in, there is an administration building on the right behind a few trees. It's a peaceful place, great if you want a walk and some peace away from the city noise.
To get to Wilde, you'll have to walk about 1 or 2 km's up the hill of this cemetery. It's a healthy walk and you'll burn some calories to get to Wilde. He is easy to find on the map you have.
**Note: If you are a fan of the great opera Mezo Soprano, Maria Callas, she is buried here too, but the map doesn't show where she is. To find her, you can find it on the large map when you first enter the cemetery. Unfortunately, I regrettably did not have the time to find her. She's a long walk from the entrance. Leave a Comment |
I was in 2 cemeteries in Paris. It's not good I think to disturb the silence of the cemetery but it’s really silent place to walk. Don't surprise when you'll see people with a map who rush from one monument to other. They search the graves of the famous people. I don't understand that. Montmartre Cemetery or North Cemetery was open in 1798. Here Stendahl, Offenbach, Degas and some other well-known persons were buried. Leave a Comment |
Another well-known cemetery is Pere Lashaise. It was opened in 1804. The most impressive building here is crematorium. The largest grave in the cemetery is of Russian. It said "to the Demidoff countess. 1814". Here are the graves of Mollier, Sarah Bernar, Chopin and others. In the travelogue you may see some pictures of the cemeteries (including Montmartre). Leave a Comment |
The Paris catacombs date back to Roman times. It's a little grim, but still a cool place to see. The Catacombs were used to hold the remains of many Parisians when church yards began to fill
There are apparently millions of remains down there. the tour is self guided, and you just walk through at your own pace. It's a good way to spend a n hour or so, especially if the weather is bad.
The entrance is across the street from the Denfert-Rochereau Metro station exit.
(photo to come) Leave a Comment |
Among the many interesting tombs and monuments in the Montmartre Cemetary are those of the singer Dalida and [finally I know!] The Doctor Guy Pichet. [thanks to Michel1974! ] The tomb looks influenced by surrealism, but the good Doctor died in either '89 or '93.
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Dalida is easier -- she was born in a poor section of Egypt, rose to fame as "Dalida", lived in Montmartre and "died for love" much too early. I was introduced to her and her music by a good friend. The site below is the official one for her. Leave a Comment |
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