Bones, Bones, Catacombs: Paris Underground

You creep down the dank, dimly lit corridor as goosebumps tickle the back of your neck. There is no turning back. You swallow hard, and continue to inch into the menacing gloom. Suddenly, you find yourself surrounded by piles of ancient human bones. Millions and millions of bones.

Where are you?

The shadows whisper no reply. But soon you remember. You are in Paris, the City of Light; home of the Eiffel Tower and the croissant; City of Romance and Fashion. Little did you know about the skeletal secrets hidden deep below. Welcome to Paris . . . .underground.

It's another world beneath Paris. Subway lines zip passengers from one end of the city to the other. A complex network of sewers runs below the middle of the streets. There are even rivers, canals, lakes, and nuclear fallout shelters. But most impressive are the miles and miles of tunnels crisscrossing the city like a maze.

The tunnels are actually old Roman quarries. For centuries, workers mined for the gypsum and limestone used to construct many Parisian buildings, such as the Louvre Museum and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Much later, during World War II, some of the old tunnels were used as the headquarters for the French Resistance. One war shelter even has water, electricity, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

Most of the tunnels are closed to the public, with the exception of 1,000 yards that attract 50,000 visitors each year. If you don't mind a little bone-chilling fright, you, too, can explore the Paris catacombs.

A catacomb is an underground cemetery. So, that explains those piles of bones! But where did the skeletons come from? How did they end up under the city streets?

In 1785, the people of Paris had a problem. It started at Cimitiere des Innocents (the Cemetery of the Innocents.) Bodies had been buried there for hundreds and hundreds of years, and it was over-crowded. In fact, the cemetery was 8 feet higher than the street! People living near by caught diseases and had to put up with a stinky, smelly stench.