Cemeteries & Other Resting Places, Paris

While atop the Tour Montparnasse, I saw the Montparnasse Cemetery where I'd just walked about trying to find names of important contributers to life.

While looking down, notice the line down the middle which is a road that divides the cemetery in half. To the left of the front half, that is where the famous philosopher of Existentialism, Satre has been laid to rest.

Other famous people buried in Montparnasse Cemetery include the composer of my favorite opera aria "Printemps Qui Commence" Camille Saint-Saens; writer Samuel Beckett, Nobel Prize winner for Literature in 1969; Poet Cesar Vallejo (darn! only just realized this :( ); Edgar Quinnet (the street just next to this cemetery; he's a famous historian); Charles Garnier (the architect of the Garnier Opera house and an infamous artistic opponent of the construction of the Eiffel Tower); Composer Cesar Franck; and Andre Citroen (the famous French Automobile maker).

The cemetery is open Daily from about 8-9am until 17:30-18:00.

The guard person working at the cemetery may not speak english. If you cannot speak much French just say: "Carte Sil'vous plais."

To be quite honest, and I do promise that I will read up on her, I know very little about Gertrude Stein. Had it not been for the catchy chorus by Idlewild, a Scottish Punk Band, who wrote the following lyrics in the song "Roseability": "Gertrude Stein says that's enough, I know that that's not enough now...." , I wouldn't even have recognized the importance of her contributions to literature.

Upon casual, superficial research, I see that she had connections to Picasso, Charlie Chaplin and even lived in Oakland, California prior to moving to Paris; she was Jewish and very lucky to have not seen a concentration camp during WW2.

Interestingly, her last words, prior to her death in 1945, just after WW2, were:

"What is the answer? ...without a reply, "In that case...what is the question?"

I hummed the song "Roseability" by Idlewild as I paid respects to her grave after long walk all the away across Père Lachaise.

Taking time to explore the streets around my hotel I discovered the Cimetiere de Montparnasse. The cemetery opened sometime in the 1800's .This is the resting place of many famous French intellectuals' as well as foreigners. Take your time it is a nice quiet relaxing walk if you have time. You will notice a few sculptures as well.

I love the few symphonic works of Camille Saint-Saens. He also composed the opera Samson and Delila. My favorite opera aria is the beautiful "Printemps Qui Commence."

Although I couldn't find his grave, I took this picture in proximity of where he was supposed to be buried. The arrangement of burials at Montparnasse Cemetery are not very organized. I walked in this area between Avenue du Nord and Allee Lenoir, section 13, where he was buried and couldn't find it after 20 minutes of searching for his burial.

In frustration, I took this picture to signify roughly where he was supposed to be buried. I hummed a few lines of Printemps Qui Commnece, and headed out. I didn't plan on spending more than 15 minutes in this cemetery as the day was young, and I had plenty to do as it was.

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.

Not really 'off the beaten path', but still, not as packed with tourists as the other sites. Try visiting one of Paris cemeteries. This photo was taken in Montparnase cemetery. You'll find quite a lot of Parisians taking a stroll between the tombstones.

I know many people think this is a strange place to visit but I consider it a "must see" activity.

It's amazing to be walking in these tunnels and thinking that they were built in Roman times. That my friends, was a very, very long time ago.

Around 1780, the cemetary at Les Halles was overflowing and causing health problems so the French decided to move many rotting corpses down below.

They keep odd hours so double check before going. Usually it's something like 2-4pm 3 days a week and slightly longer hours on the weekend.

We've been twice. Once when they opened and once when they were closing. By far it was better when they were closing. It seems that more people are waiting for them to open thinking they'll beat the lines. That doesn't happen usually because they don't open until 2pm. Everyone is up by then!

We had the best luck going at 3:45pm and practically had the place to ourselves during mid September.

Even if you don't care about seeing Jim Morrisons grave, you should venture out to the Pere Lachaise for a quick visit.

The grounds are quite stunning. The tombs and gravesites are SO old. It looks like a movie set more than a real cemetary.

It doesn't take long to do. You can be in and out in less than an hour and I think it's well worth the metro ride.

Other notables buried here are Sarah Bernhardt, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and Frederic Chopin.