Some may find it slightly morbid that a cemetery has become such a tourist attraction, but Pere-Lachaise Cemetery remains one of Paris’s most beautiful spots. The cemetery is the largest green space in Paris, covering 44 hectares. It’s free to enter and you can spend hours walking around.
The number of famous people buried there is staggering: Jim Morrison, Honoré de Balzac, Frédéric Chopin, Oscar Wile and Jean Moulin, just to name a few. You can find a complete list here. The most famous tombs usually have a regular swarm of visitors. Authorities tied to enforce stricter visiting-behaviour around Jim Morrison’s tomb but eventually gave up. You’ll most likely run into a few Door’s fans.
Built in 1804, on the orders of Napoleon, the design was based on the traditional English garden, with trees and little paths. The name, Pere Lachaise, is derived from Louis XIV’s confessor, Father (Pére) La Chaise.
Pére-Lachaise is still a functioning cemetery. Burials happen on a regular basis and you will also see people visiting and tending to the graves of those they lost. So when you are visiting make sure to be respectful, i.e. don’t go blaring Baby Light My Fire in tribute to Jim.
Pére Lachaise is especially significant to the French political ‘left’. There are a number of left-wing leaders buried there. Two monuments are particularly emotive: The Communards Wall, in honour of the 147 Communards that were shot in 1871, ending the Paris Commune, and the monument erected for the French Brigadists, volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.
Pere Lachaise is a difficult place for some people to visit, with good cause. Many tombs and gravestones have been left unattended by relatives and are in bad repair. In some areas the presence of dead flowers can be overwhelming. The cemetery is also home to a number of wild cats (estimated 3,000), which can give the place an eerie atmosphere if you are prone to superstition.
However, the beauty and history of Pére Lachaise makes it worth the visit. Also, look beyond the fact that some graves have been left to ruin and examine the different tomb designs. Pere Lachaise is one of most amazing sites for funerary sculpture, a sociological insight into how death has been honoured and feared. Tudor Mavrovin’s Voluptuous Death contains some good examples of the kind of sculpture you will come across.
My one word of advice would be to respect the closing time. Guards will go through the cemetery to make sure everyone is out but once I somehow missed bumping into them, didn’t realize the time and experience a few moments of panic when I went to leave and found the gates locked shut. Luckily I found a guard who hadn’t finished doing his rounds.
Père Lachaise, 16 rue du Repos, 75020, Paris
Tel: (01) 5525 8210. Fax: (01) 4370 4216