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ranked #7 out of 10 attractions | rated 2.17 out of 5 | total 94 votes |
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Pere-Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise)
Why the Pere-Lachaise Cemetery is a Paris tourist attraction that isn’t worth a visit
Why on earth would you want to visit a cementery in the first place? Why would you do that in Paris with most certainly no relatives resting in peace there? Especially if your trip to Paris is only for a few days, you don’t need to be bothered visiting the Pere Lachaise Cementery.
One can argue it’s a historic place. Well it’s true, it’s old. One can argue it’s a big beautiful place. Well, true, it’s huge - in fact the biggest cementery in Paris - and a sort of park and it has some macabre spooky charm. One can argue there are many famous people buried. Well, so what? Can I talk to them? Can I read something about them? All I can see is the tomb with the name written on it.
Most visitors do the usual round: Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde, maybe Frederic Chopin, Honore de Balzac and Marcel Proust or Edith Piaf - depends on the nationality and educational background.
But why on earth should I visit Jim Morrison’s grave? If I don’t know him, I don’t need to go there, and if I know him, there is still no point of watching a tomb stone with his name on it. Rather listen to his music, read his poems - that’s the way to honor the dead!
Paris is so vivid and can offer you so much. Therefore go and enjoy the living things instead of old rotten tomb stones!
| Attraction: | Pere-Lachaise Cemetery (Cimetière du Père-Lachaise) | |
|---|---|---|
| Address: | 16 Rue du Repos, 75020 Paris | |
| Opening hours: | Days | Time |
| Mon - Fri | 08:00 a.m. - 18:00 p.m. | |
| Sat | 08:30 a.m. - 18:00 p.m. | |
| Sun | 09:00 a.m. - 18:00 p.m. | |
| Admission fees: | Ticket type | Price |
| N/A | free | |
January 17, 2006 @ 2:01 am
Louise said,
In principle I agree, it’s quite odd to visit graves of people you don’t know. But this cemetery is a beautiful, peaceful place and I actually enjoyed looking at the names of the tomb stones and imagining what lives these people had led, whom did they love and if their lives were happy. However I was really disappointed of Jim Morrison’s grave. It’s rather small and unimpressive.
December 23, 2006 @ 2:41 pm
Varmint said,
I thought the cemetery was an interesting and evocative place, but I agree that it can be missed if time is limited, unless graves of random famous people are really your thing
January 10, 2007 @ 12:37 am
Odette said,
I do not agree. I think pere lachaise is a beutiful and enchanted place. If your ever in Paris i think you should totally check this place out, maybe if you actually knew the people that were buried there like Baron Haussmann (he basically created what France is today) and Jim Morrison (band member from The Doors) you would be able to appricate this fairy tale land . So basically what im trying to say is in order to really like and understand this place you need to do some research, I still recomend going there because its not just the amazing people buried there its the beutiful craftmanship of all the marvalous statues and gravestones.
March 20, 2007 @ 3:16 pm
Graham Noble said,
I would like to suggest that any convicted hooligans in Paris be given community service and be forced to clean the moss etc of the old tombstones. Some of the respect that is evident throughout Pere Lachaise may rub off on them, and a beautiful place will have its beauty enhanced.
November 7, 2007 @ 9:30 pm
jules said,
Ive been to Paris many times, but with 48 hours to spend there recently, i went to Pere Lachaise for the first time . It is beautiful, part of Paris’ history, and an antidote to the “glitz” of he main tourist sights . You don’t need to know the dead to appreciate the beauty of the place on a dry autumnal day..take a ten minute bus ride to Bastille if you want some increased animation. . Amazing craftsmanship , well maintained , peaceful and eclectic .A true mix of cultures, religions,nationalities..I’ll go back again .
February 8, 2008 @ 9:33 pm
chopin said,
Great post, very informative. Have learned a lot from your site.