Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris

- darkometer rating: 4 -

A fabulous cemetery in Paris, France – one of the most famous cemeteries in the world, and quite possibly the most visited by tourists. In fact, at some of the famous graves it can get positively crowded. Away from fame and crowds, many marvellous discoveries of cemetery art can be made here. Moreover, there's a whole section with memorial monuments to various concentration camps – some of them quite stunning. A must-do for any so inclined Paris tourist.

>More background info

>What there is to see

>Location

>Access and costs

>Time required

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More background info: The cemetery was established in 1804, when cemeteries in the centre of Paris were banned (and even removed – see the catacombs). Together with Montparnasse, Montmatre and Passy (by the Eiffel Tower) it is one of the four "new cemeteries" that were then on the outskirts of the city. It is the largest of these, and as it had become ever more popular in the 19th century, it became rather crowded. This may have impaired the original park-like design and layout of the cemetery, but as far as its atmospheric character goes, it certainly gained from it.

It also is worth noting that Pere Lachaise has traditionally been of particular importance to the political left in France (even fights and shootings took place here, e.g. in 1871 when Paris Communards were shot in the cemetery grounds – look for the Mur des Federes, in the top right corner of the cemetery for the relevant memorial).

To aid locating graves of particular individuals you should either pick up a map at the entrance, or plan ahead using the cemetery's highly interactive website (www.pere-lachaise.com – it does not list the memorials, however). If you just want to see the two most famous ones, Jim Morrison's and Oscar Wilde's, you can probably do without any maps or guidance – just follow the crowds in the relevant sections: Jim is in section 6 in the southern lower part, Oscar is in section 89 on Avenue Carette in the central eastern part at the top only a few sectors away from the concentration camp memorial monuments.

What there is to see: It's simply an enchanted and beautiful cemetery that is captivating just as a necropolis/park to wander around in and take refuge from the hustle and bustle of busy Paris. Many consider Pere Lachaise the most beautiful cemetery in the world, and it is hard to disagree with that …

It's also a prime tourist attraction and a lot of people seem to come with the main intention of seeing particular graves of famous people interred here. One favourite is Jim Morrison, whose grave is, however, an extremely modest affair and not much to look at at all.

Another favourite is Oscar Wilde, and his grave is (fittingly) more flamboyant: a large, very modern sculpture of a gravestone, whose surface is covered with kiss-marks (apparently people still use lipstick to leave their mark thus even today) and even graffiti inscriptions – clearly in defiance of the sign that admonishes against doing so. The strangely Egyptian looking statue is said to have originally sported a graphic enough part of the male anatomy to outrage the more puritan cemetery-goers, so that it was first covered up, later the "member" was even hacked off completely … You can still see the "stump". And even close to this, there are kiss marks … Stardom in death.

Other famous names at Pere Lachaise include Honore de Balzac, Claude Chabrol, Maria Callas, Frederic Chopin, Edith Piaf, Gertrude Stein and lots more. Many graves of less well-known names, however, exceed these famous ones by ingenuity of design or sheer gothic pathos. Just wander around and keep your eyes open.

An especially striking part of the cemetery is the enormous Columbarium arranged around the almost mosque-like crematorium. It's a huge system of walls containing niches for urns – those in use covered by small headstones, those not yet in use open, but often with a potted plant or other such decoration in them. There are rows and rows of niches, in a two-storey system, with stairs leading up to the upper level. And there's more underground: another two subterranean storeys of more rows of urn niches and plaques, many adorned with flowers. It's cold and only dimly lit down here, which only enhances the spooky atmosphere …

Finally, there's also a series of memorials to the victims of various Nazi concentration camps of WWII – and it is these that add a particular extra-dark edge to the place that goes beyond the gothic-dark romanticism of graveyard aesthetics and even has a few almost shocking elements in store:

Some of the memorial monuments are comparatively modest affairs of classic stark design, such as those for Flossenbürg and Dachau, both of which feature the red triangle which marked the category of political prisoners in the camp system.

The one for Auschwitz-Birkenau is dominated by a strangely alien-like figure protruding out of the dark grey lava stone block, which, though rather abstract, does have a certain unsettling effect.

Ravensbrück is represented by a sculpture of a pair of tied-up giant hands of yellow sand-stone. Neuengamme, on the other hand, got a sandstone sculpture that is unfittingly serene, just a female figure kneeling behind a block of stone.

The Mauthausen monument features a bronze figure nestled against the stepped side of the monument – obviously representing the "Todesstiege" ('stairs of death') of Mauthausen's quarry.

One of the most graphic monuments is the one for Buchenwald (and Mittelbau-Dora): three bronze figures of skeleton-like camp inmates, one of them clearly dead or dying, supported by the other two.

Sachsenhausen (Oranienburg) has one of the largest and most striking monuments – it involves a huge figure of a man seemingly lifting of towards the heavens.

More abstract again is the memorial for Bergen-Belsen on the other side of the path –it also features, however, a set of footprints in its concrete front part, probably to symbolize the death marches to this camp when many of the others closer to the fronts were "evacuated". This ties in with the listing of many such camps' names on two plaques to the side of the footprints, including ones not otherwise represented at Pere Lachaise, such as Groß-Rosen and Stutthof.

Also on this side of the path is the more recent monument for Natzweiler-Strutthof, which was the only concentration camp on French soil. It picks up the red triangle theme again, in two ways: the whole monument is shaped like such a triangle and at its lower pointed end is another triangle, in red with the letter F (for French, obviously) set in it. The main feature, however, is the drastic sculpture of a withered man, half skeleton, lying across the centre of the monument.

By far the most stunning of all these memorials is, in my view, the one for Auschwitz III Buna-Monowitz. Atop a granite block, at the top of a few steps, is a group of dejected and exhausted-looking figures, one of whom is pushing a wheelbarrow with a presumably deceased (or too weak to walk) fellow inmate. This ensemble (inaugurated in 1993) I found the most heart-breaking of the lot – and I'm pleased (if that's the right word) that this almost forgotten third part of Auschwitz gets such a powerful mention here for once.

Some of the monuments have varying amounts of explanatory text on them, mostly in French, though the Dachau monument also features a large plaque in English at the foot of the structure.

In between the memorials for the camps are also a few more commemorating the Resistance, communists, forced labourers, etc. – and just behind the string of monuments a large plaque set in an otherwise bare stretch of inner wall commemorates the communards who were shot at this very spot in 1871.

This ensemble of memorial monuments is to be found in or near division 97 towards the top (south-)eastern-most section of the cemetery, near the Porte de la Reunion.

Location: in the east of Paris, in the 20th arondissenment (district), a good two miles (3.5 km) from the Ile de la Cite and Notre Dame.

Google maps locator: [48.860,2.393]

Access and costs: easy to get to and free.

Details: to reach the cemetery from central Paris take the metro, either to the station Pere Lachaise (M2, M3), which takes you to the lower main entrance, or to Gambetta (M3), which isn't far from the back entrance (walk down Avenue de Pere Lachaise) – that way you can start at the top of the hill and its an easier downhill stroll. Also, the graves and memorials likely to be of more interest to the dark tourist are located in this end of the cemetery (only Jim Morrison's, if you need to see it, is in the lower part down the hill). If you want to pick up a printed map, you can get these for free from the main entrance – I've read somewhere that you have to obtain them from the cemetery office, but I found mine just lying out on a ledge right by the main entrance gate (maybe some are also available like this at the Gambetta entrance?). There are also enlarged maps on panels at various points within the cemetery.

Opening times: daily from 8 a.m. on weekdays (8:30 and 9 a.m. on Saturdays and Sundays/holidays respectively, and closes at 6 p.m. in summer and at 5:30 in winter.

Admission: free.

Time required: really depends on how much you want immerse yourself in this necropolis. Just taking a quick glance at a couple of famous graves and having a bit of a stroll can be done in an hour or two, but the place is worth a little longer than that … you could even spend at least a whole day here.

Combinations with other dark destinations: see Paris.

Combinations with non-dark destinations: see Paris.