Skip the Line: Catacombs of Paris Small-Group Walking Tour

Paris, France

Paris is known for the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Louvre, but in the City of Lights a darker reality lurks in the infamous catacombs of Paris. This exclusive Skip the Line tour explores the extensive underground labyrinth that extends beneath the Paris city surface. Numbers are limited to a maximum of 20 people, ensuring you'll receive personalized attention from your knowledgeable guide. And by booking ahead, you won't waste any time waiting in line!

"Stop! Here is the empire of death." This is the sign that greets you as you enter the underground chambers of the Paris catacombs, eerie resting place of French citizens of the past. Descend deep into the tunnels of Paris and explore over a kilometer of catacombs decorated with human skulls and bones. Discover the extraordinary history of the catacombs and listen to the haunting stories and legends of these galleries of skeletons.

The Paris catacombs were originally limestone quarries, mined for the construction of Paris' most famous buildings and bridges. From the late 1700s the quarries were used to house bodies moved here from the overcrowded cemeteries of Paris. The bones of exhumed bodies were stacked neatly in various rooms creating kilometers of walls composed entirely of human remains.

Access to the catacombs is extremely limited and the long lines can last up to two hours. With privileged Skip the Line access you can avoid the long wait and enjoy a personalized visit with our limited group of just 20 guests per day. Join us and explore Paris as never before on this exclusive Skip the Line tour!

USD $53.63

Traveler Reviews

Review by: Susan	December 2011
Very good tour. Interesting, our guide was very good!

Review by: Gary A	November 2011
Outstanding tour, guide Adam was so articulate and informative, he absolutely knows and is passionate about this 'hobby" - throughly recommend the tour

Review by: MYEONGKU Y	November 2011
Interesting place and the guide was very nice.

Review by: Kylie R	November 2011
My Husband and I went on the Catacombs tour last week had a great experience. The lovely Canadian guide we had was very genuine, friendly and informative. He passed on a lot of the stories which are really quite dark, in a sensitve and sometimes humourus manner whilst being very respectful of those interred. We will definately recommend doing the tour for anyone interested in the history of Paris.

Review by: christine w	October 2011
amazing experience

Review by: Mark T	October 2011
While out tour guide was passable for this one I would really skip the tour guide and just wait in the line it was super short and frankly it was annoying as boogers having people walk through out group and frankly the audio tour would have been better. Not to slight our tour guide but you can only look at 6,000,000 bones and hear the same rehash of the story so many times before you are tempted to just wonder off and do your own thing. Which I often times did. The tour guide did know her stuff stone cold no pun intended but I really think it was excessive especially because in the narrow corridors we kept getting interrupted by people that were walking through at their own pace through our group

Review by: Tania W	October 2011
Our guide was excellent but the tour did feel somewhat rushed. At the time of year we went, the queues were not too long and I would recommend doing a self-guided tour if you want time for photography and to experience the atmosphere fully.

Review by: christineprosser	October 2011
the tour was great and the guide was terrific she was fun informative and the gruop not to big

Review by: Frankie H	October 2011
Having done this tour already without a guide, I felt that doing it with one would be more benficial... I wasn't wrong.

Review by: Robyn M	October 2011
The guide was very knowledgeable, and the tour was fantastic. It was also great to not have earphones to get your information.

Review by: Donald Evan L	October 2011
The skip the line is the only way to go. The line ups are long and they start lining up 1/2 an hour to 1 hour before it opens.

Review by: Jan	October 2011
Great and well worth it. Unbeleivable number of bones all respectfully plaed. Not gruesome but instead very interesting.

Review by: Sunflower	October 2011
Excellent tour and guide.

Review by: Michael J	September 2011
It was a very interesting tour and the guide was terrific. Not having to queue was great.

Review by: Anita C	September 2011
The tour guide was very good

Review by: Rhiannon B	September 2011
i loved this tour, our tour guide was hilarious! i forgot his name, but he was a young short french canadian who had us all laughing for the entire thing! unfortunately when we got there a section of the catacombs had just collapsed so we couldnt walk the whole three hours but there was still plenty to see

Review by: Tom L	September 2011
Excellent value, very informative guide, worth doing

Review by: Jerry S	September 2011
This is the second time taking this tour in the past few years and always very informative. The spiral stair case at the end of the tour does not get easer.

Review by: Meaghan M	September 2011
A wonderful guide took us through the catacombs regailing us with many tales._br/_ Just be ready for the 84steps at the end.

Review by: Henry B	September 2011
EXCELLENT TOUR. GOOD GUIDE WITHPROMPT SERVICE.ONLY WAY TO SEE THE CATACOMBS WITH THE LARGE CROWDS

Review by: Teresa R	September 2011
Enter your review here.This is a must see an worth every euro we spent. Adam our tour guide was incredible. He had the perfect mix of intellect, stage presents and dark humor.

Review by: Melinda E	September 2011
a good different look at the underground of paris, however should be aware very dark in areas and lots of hard stairs to climbs, but worth the trip down.

Review by: Kenneth B	September 2011
Fabulous tour. And the queue was 100 meters long! We went straight in ahead of the hoards. Great feeling of superiority. Th eguide was excellent, and covered every aspect of the tour clearly. Would recomend.

Review by: Denise	September 2011
It was great not having to cue up in line and the guide was very informative. The only downside was other visiters "joining" our tour. Awkward. We found we couldn't hear the guide at times as people who were not with the tour had managed to sqeeze in front of us.

Review by: cynthia k	August 2011
The line went all the way around the block and back again. We were so glad to be able to skip it and the guide was very good as well.

Review by: Carole B	August 2011
Was o.k but the guide was young and did not have that much to say only when we stopped and he talked about what we had stopped to look at not french think he was from England

Review by: SUSAN F	August 2011
Excellent tour, knowledgeable and interesting guide, but not for the faint of heart.

Review by: Keith J	August 2011
Excellent guide and a unique experience.Not to be missed, especially the line up which was about a km long.

Review by: Kathryn G	August 2011
I would highly recommend this tour. It was fascinating and the tour guide was excellent. She was interested in her subject, very knowledgeable and paced the walk very well. We appreciated her clear explanation of what we could expect on the tour prior to commencement.

Review by: Catherine H	August 2011
Very interesting tour; much more interesting and meaningful with a guide than walking through on your own. Be ready for the stairs.

Review by: Kelvin S	August 2011
What a revealing look at the history of Paris. Excellent guide who provided detailed information on the activity of the catacombs over the centuries. We really enjoyed this tour and it was probably one of the best highlights of our stay in Paris. Truly amazing. Take this tour to skip the line. It was worth it. Highly recommended.

Review by: frank a	July 2011
Very interesting tour of Paris history,even though a little ghoulish.

Review by: Gavin	July 2011
One of the most amazing tours we did in Paris._br/_ Very different and interesting. Our guide was informative and above all, interesting. It may sound scary, but we did'nt find it like that.

Review by: Mary S	July 2011
Enjoyed the tour...Paulina was an excellent guide and very knowledgeable. Given that you can take a self-guided tour of the Catacombs with audioguide for just a few Euro, this is a very pricey tour. The best part is that you get to avoid the long entrance line...but you see the same bones, hear pretty much the same information (albeit over a headphone), and I think next time I'll opt to keep the extra Euros in my pocket!!

Review by: Glen B	July 2011
Excellent tour, happy that we booked a skip the line guided tour.

Review by: diamondking	July 2011
wife loved it _br/_ lotta bones_br/_ kinda creepy but _br/_ wife loved it so it was good:)

Review by: Laura D	July 2011
This was a true highlight, not only of our time in Paris, but of all of our 19 days in Europe. Skipping the long lines was so nice, and our guide was excellent -- very knowledeable and informative. Everyone in our family, incluidng our 6- and 8-year old kids enjoyed this tour. The Paris catacombs are fascinating, but I don't think we would have gotten nearly as much out of the catacombs without a guided tour.

Review by: Christina C, Australia	July 2010
Simply brilliant with a highly engaging tour guide.

Review by: Anonymous, Canada	July 2010
Amazing, informative and really interesting. Don't go if you are claustiphobic, as it is a labriynth down there and quite dark.

Review by: Seth R, United Kingdom	July 2010
Booked this trip as a surprise for my partner while in Paris. Was so please as we boh thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The normal queue for the catacombs stretched around the block but we waited with the rest of the group about 10 of us in total right by the entrance and when it was our time we were called straight in without any queueung! Our tour guide was Karly if i remember correctly, she was great! Very friendly and had all the answers we had a good laugh! The trip was very laid back and relaxed and was amazing to see all this is sitting right under the streets of Paris! Totally recommend this 2 hour tour while in Paris!

Review by: Yvonne W, Australia	July 2010
Totally amazing - I could not imagine going through the catacombs without an experienced and knowledgeable guide - it would have been a little bit meaningless.

Review by: Craig B, United States of America	July 2010
I enjoyed visiting the catacombs. There are two advantages to taking this tour. One, you enter as a group as soon as all of the other participants are present. So, you do not wait in line like the other tourists. This saved 20-30 minutes. Second, it was nice to have a guide to explain what we were looking at while we walked in the catacombs. There aren't too many English signs down below! On the other hand, this tour is advertised as lasting two hours. It did not. We were done in one hour and 20 minutes. I don't feel there was any rushing or anything skipped either. I thought the price was a little high but you may think it was worth it.

Review by: Jessie M, Australia	July 2010
Excellent guide, but a little repetitive. But then that was expected. It was worth doing.

Review by: Rob H, Canada	June 2010
Entrance is a little hard to locate after touring such grand buildings in Paris. It is just a little green door across from the Metro RER station. FANTASTIC tour.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	June 2010
Fantastic tour--great guide. Learned so much history that I wouldn't have known otherwise. I normally like to do everything on my own, but must admit that taking this tour was a much better way to do the Catacombs. Utterly fascinating. One of the best things I've ever done in Paris or anywhere.

Review by: Keith H, United States of America	June 2010
Excellent tour, well guided by someone that has a very intense interest in the subject.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	May 2010
Our tour guide Carly was awesome! The tour shows you about as much of the Catacombs you would want to see. The piles of bones go on for miles and the tour guide tells many great stories.

Review by: Tracey W, Australia	May 2010
Best done with the guide as without the guide there is not much explanation of what is down there and why. Plenty of people tried to join our tour as they could see the benefit of the guide we were with. Excellent tour and a different side of Paris.

Review by: Anonymous, United States of America	May 2010
Very good guide. The catacombs were a little claustrophobic. The history of the Paris underground was interesting.

Review by: Lola M, Australia	May 2010
My husband and I enjoyed the catacombs tour. Our guide was very informative and made it a better experience than if we had just gone by ourselves which judging by the queue a lot of people do. I will suggest to friends that it is a worthwhile tour to do while in Paris.