Stretching over a whopping 110 acres, Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. Attracting millions of visitors a year, to stroll along the leafy avenues within is a calming and serene experience away from the bustle of the city.
Whilst a cemetery visit might not be on the top of everyone’s to-do list when visiting a new city or country, it’s definitely on ours.
From the white baking hot heat of the St Louis Number 1 Cemetery in New Orleans (Post here) to this beautiful “Garden Cemetary” you can travel back and forth in time and in style with Neo Classical, Napoleonic, Baroque and Gothic style tombs as well as the more modern and minimalistic.
On a leafy hill in the 20th arrondissement, the Père Lachaise Cemetery is home to some of the greatest talent the world has seen. Oscar Wilde, Frederic Chopin, Edith Piaf, Moliere and Jim Morrison to name but a few are all eternal residents. This is a big pull for visitors but a lot just like to come and walk the avenues.
You might find it strange to call the paths in the Père Lachaise Cemetery avenues but they are wide, leafy and cobbled and just pretty. We visited in autumn when the sun was low and the trees were shades of orange.
We recommend entering from the top of the site near Gambetta Metro station on Rue des Rondeaux or from the Père Lachaise Metro station on Boulevard de Menilmontant and work your way down the hill in a side to side motion.
You can spend hours upon hours once inside and there are seats but do be respectful while you visit. You may find musicians paying homage at Jim Morrisons grave but don’t whip out a picnic and loaf about. There are toilets on site but nowhere to get a drink so be prepared if you are there all day in the sun.
Opening hours at Père Lachaise Cemetary are between 8am – 5.30pm and entrance is free on a self guided basis. Tours are available on the weekends but you can download maps of the main tombs you might want to visit.
Next on our Cemetery visit lists are the Old Burying Point Cemetery in Salem and Highgate Cemetary in London!