a dark mysterieux Paris

Mysterieux Paris!

Paris may be the City of Love but the French capital has a dark side that lurks far below the pavement. Halloween favourites!

1. The Catacombs


In Paris, right below your feet is a series of catacombs that stretches almost 300km, housing the remains of  6 million corpses. Walking through the non-descript door and climbing down the dank steps into this maze is like stepping into another world. Walls lined with bones stacked up to 2 metres high and several metres thick in places in a bizarre, grotesque tribute to the millions of Parisians that died from disease, starvation or violence who could not afford a grave. Bones have been fashioned into elaborate designs. website

2. The Paris Sewer Museum


The Paris Sewer Museum, Musée des égouts de Paris is a fantastic and icky attraction, especially great for anyone who knows and loves Les Misérables, based in these long sandstone corridors. Located beneath Quai d’Orsay. Open 11am to 4pm. Closed Thurs and Fri website

3. The Dark Heart of Paris


Paris has a very dark and bitter history and there are elements of Parisian history that are well-known - French revolution, the guillotine that claimed so many heads, including Marie Antoinette’s, or Bartholomew’s Day massacre. The Mysteries of Paris Ghost Tour takes you through the streets of Paris under a cloak of darkness, winding alleyways and cutting through the hushed silence of the night. website

4. Le Guillotine Bar


 Tucked on a narrow street in the Latin Quarter La Guillotine bar looks like a typical hangout. Below the bar lies a little room called Le Caveau des Oubliettes ("the cave of the forgotten") - steep stone stairs lead into the cave that once held prisoners awaiting the guillotine, now filled with small wooden tables and at 10 p.m, an unannounced mix of jazz/blues groups seduce an eclectic crowd. 52 Rue Galande Website

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