Père-Lachaise Cemetery

The first time you visit Père-Lachaise Cemetery you sometimes don't realise that it's the largest cemetery in Paris. From first glance at the entrance gate it doesn't tell you much until you enter and explore. I visited with friends and had few "famous tombs" to find but we abandoned the idea earlier and just wandered around and be surprised. Few tombs stand out in relation to its unbelievable funeral monument design. We read up on the history of this cemetery and discovered that it was named after François Charles d'Aix de La Chaise known as Père(Father) Lachaise, Louis XIV's confessor. We entered via Boulevard de Ménimontant, one of five entrances. This entrance is distinctive with its semicircle portal with two pylons in Neoclassical style. There's an information boards to the left after entering (near the tombstone of Legru and Lhenoret) that list the names and plot numbers of famous residents of this cemetery. This cemetery is one of the most visited in Paris and it pays to read up its history before visiting. The most famous graves are plenty including Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, Frédéric Copin, Abelard & Heloise, to name a few. There's so much more to discover at this "open museum". It's mostly accessible to wheelchairs and prams. There's public lavatory near the entrance gate to the right hand side as you enter.
Antoine - 3 months ago

Père Lachaise Cemetery is a truly unforgettable place. We visited this historic cemetery twice — every time we were in Paris — and it left a strong impression on us each time. The atmosphere here is impossible to describe with words. It feels special and unique both in rainy and sunny weather, each time revealing a different mood and beauty. Walking through it feels calm, emotional, and deeply atmospheric. This is definitely a place worth visiting at least once when you’re in Paris — highly recommended.
Zlata - 3 months ago

The last place visited, and at the last minute on a recent trip. I knew that there were a number of well known and influential artists of all sorts (writers, painters, musicians, poets) interned in this cemetery, but had no idea just how many and how vast and expansive the property is - over 1 million burial sites on 110 acres in the 20th arrondissement. Plan to spend a while if you make your way there and stop by the graves of such notables as Honoré de Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt, Georges Bizet, Colette, George Enescu, Olivia de Havilland, Marcel Marceau, Amedeo Modigliani, Molière, Édith Piaf, Camille Pissarro, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison and many others. And, close to my heart (and piano), Frédéric Chopin. There are numerous entrances, many of which have maps and guides to many of the most often visited graves. Wear your walking shoes and spend the afternoon.
David Alpern - 2 months ago

Vast cemetery housing centuries of the city's dead, including celebrities of every variety. Elaborate above ground mausoleums also represent artistic and architectural styles of centuries, several religions, and changing beliefs about the afterlife. As this city of the dead grew it eventually needed roads, street signs for navigation, and a welcome center with restrooms.
Josh - 3 months ago

I think I would go there every weak end, so calm, you have time to reflect to your life,its a special place ,in good weather amazing to jsut seat there. Many people come with their children. I found also Armenian memorial here... its a nice place to follow also the history of all of us.
Angela Frangyan - a month ago