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Are the Paris Catacombes Worth the Price?
The Paris Catacombes used to be known for their long lines to get in. Before Covid, people without tickets would try and get there first thing in the morning to avoid lines. But, like many popular Parisian sites, today it’s only possible to visit the Catacombes with a pre-paid ticket for entry at a specific time, purchased a maximum of seven days in advance on the official website. Today, what makes me think twice before recommending a visit to the Catacombes is the exorbitant price!
As of August 2025, the official “skip the line” tickets (including an audio guide in multiple languages) are €31 for adults, €25 for students 18-26, and €12 for kids 5-17 accompanied by an adult (and they don’t get an audioguide). The discount “last-minute” tickets no longer exist. No museum passes are accepted.
Honestly, this seems like a huge waste of money to me. Full-priced tickets were only €10 as recently as 2015, that’s a 210% rise in price over ten years. For perspective, the Louvre Museum’s full price is only €22 for adults and free for anyone under 18 (or EU students under 26) and free for everyone the first Friday evening of the month. The only thing more expensive than the Catacombes in Paris is the summit of the Eiffel Tower at €35.20 for adults (but only €14.20 for the second floor–which is still higher than almost every other building in Paris–if you take the stairs). Even the Château, Trianons, and vast gardens of Versailles are only €24 in low season (and €32 in high season), and also completely free the first Sunday of the month November through March.
But the Catacombes are never free. Due to their popularity and damp conditions, they need constant maintenance, so prices rise every year. Sure, they have a newly-built entrance and a gift shop at the exit, but it’s still inaccessible if you can’t do staircases, and there are no restrooms until after you exit.
Unless you’re on a private tour with access to closed areas (mentioned below), regular visitors follow a fixed, one-way path through the narrow tunnels that takes about 60-90 minutes from start to finish. There’s no wandering or “exploring”, people are coming up behind you and expect you to take your photos and move along. The Frenchies did a video of their visit in 2022, which shows you exactly what you’ll see on your visit (unfortunately, the discount tickets they mention no longer exist in 2025).
I think some people go because they believe the hype that it’s a “must see”, or they confuse its history with that of the ancient burial catacombs in Rome used by the early Christians. A lot of people go here because they think it’s great for teenagers (the same reasoning for going to the sewars museum, Les Egouts de Paris). But if you’re just looking for something cool and creepy you won’t find “back home”, I think you’d get more out of a free visit to Père Lachaise Cemetery (even with a guide it would cost less than the Catacombes).
Where to Purchase Your Tickets
If you’re still intent on visiting the Catacombes, the cheapest tickets are sold directly on the official website. In recent years there have been so many counterfeit tickets being sold by both fraudulent online websites and in person by scammers looking for clueless tourists who showed up without reserving tickets in advance that the Paris Catacombes website now only sells tickets up to one week in advance, so you’ll have to put a reminder on your calendar before your visit. In low season, basically anytime outside of summer, you can also check their website for last-minute tickets for a visit on the same day (using your smartphone if you don’t have access to a computer). Purchase them at this link (scroll all the way down to “Official ticket // Catacombs”).
Because all tickets sold on the official website have a specific time slot, there’s no need to pay for a “skip the line” ticket elsewhere. But if they’re all sold out and you absolutely must look elsewhere, at least check to make sure they’re on the list of “authorized sellers” (scroll down to find it). I have checked the locally-based tour companies on this list, and currently the only ones selling Catacombes tickets are Memories France VIP Tours (which are guided tours, not just entrance tickets).
I do NOT recommend just showing up without a ticket unless you happen to be in the neighborhood anyway and don’t see a line out the front (and confirm they’re still selling last-minute tickets on their website). Although it’s possible they could sell you a ticket in person, they’re more likely to tell you to go online and purchase it directly on your phone.
PS: If you happen to be in the neighborhood anyway, I highly recommend visiting the free Liberation of Paris Museum, right across the street from the Catacombes. No skeletons, but you’ll learn so much about Paris and its people during the WWII Occupation and Liberation (including access to the underground bunker used as a command center by the Resistance).
Guided Tours of the Catacombes
It’s up to you if it’s worth the extra cost and time to take a guided tour, but honestly, it’s one of the places I recommend simply reading up on in advance (or downloading your favorite audio tour to your phone).
Some of the guided tours being sold online use scare tactics in their marketing, implying you need a guide to avoid getting lost or to skip the lines: “Learn why the bones of more than six million people were deposited under the city in a complex maze of tunnels that you definitely need a guide to navigate.” Er…no, the parts open to the public are gated off so that you can only go one way. Another says “The lines at the Catacombs are very long and are known to make people wait for up to 3 hours.” This is no longer true since everyone now needs timed entry tickets. Even if you do shell out for a guided tour, as one site mentions in the fine print, you might still end up waiting if there’s a bottleneck of visitors: “Please be aware that at busy times there may be a long queue to enter the Catacombs.”
There are official guided tours of the Catacombes, but only in French. You can find many guides online who will do tours of the Catacombes in English for €99-€195/person for groups of 10-20 people. The independent private guides I usually recommend for Secrets of Paris readers can’t usually provide tours of the Catacombes because the huge corporate tour operators buy up all of the spots in advance in bulk for a huge discount (like the Eiffel Tower), so there are very few spots available for independent guides. But the second best option are tours with locally-based companies, and as mentioned above, the only ones I know about who are currently offering Catacombes tours are Memories France VIP Tours (from €159/person, six people max in a group). If anyone knows of any other local tour companies (ie the parent company is based in France) providing Catacombes tour, let me know.
Practical Tips for Visiting the Catacombes
There’s one entrance at the Place Denfert Rochereau (specifically 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy) right across the street from the Liberation of Paris Museum and the main entrance to the Denfert-Rochereau metro station. The exit and boutique are actually a few blocks down the street, at 21bis Avenue René-Coty.
- There are 131 spiral steps going down at the entrance and another 112 stairs going back up at the end. The Catacombes are not wheelchair accessible, nor adapted for anyone with mobility issues. The official website also says the site is not recommended if you’re pregnant, have claustrophobia, or suffer from cardiac or respiratory conditions.
- Normally the 1.5-kilometer circuit of the Catacombes takes about 45-minutes to walk through while listening to the official audio guide, unless you’re taking your time on lots of photos or listening to anecdotes on your own audio tour. The guided tours are usually about two hours. It’s a one-way circuit, so you can’t just wander around (or, as mentioned above, get “lost”).
- It’s usually quite cool down there, 14°C/57°F.
- The lighting is quite dim in many places. Seeing eye dogs are allowed, but not white canes.
- There are no bathrooms until you reach the end of the visit, and there is no coat check nor baggage storage. Strollers, bags larger than 40cmx30cmx20cm, motorcycle helmets, and tripods are not allowed.
- You’re not allowed to eat, drink, or smoke in the Catacombes. You’re also not allowed to touch anything, but I hope none of the Secrets of Paris readers need to be told that. 😉
- Even though you have to purchase a timed-entry ticket, you’ll find the Catacombes the least crowded in the first and last hours of the day (so don’t hesitate getting the 7pm entry ticket if that time works for your schedule).
Paris Catacombes
1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy (Place Denfert-Rochereau), 14th
Metro/RER Denfert-Rochereau
Opening hours are Tuesday-Sunday 9:45am-8:30pm (last entry 7:30pm).
Closed Mondays and on January 1, May 1, and December 25.
What About the “Secret” Catacombes Tunnels?
Finally, a short note to remind readers that even though there are tunnels extending much further under Paris (and many people who love to share stories of sneaking into them for “parties”), it’s only legal to visit the ones that are open to the public or with an official guide. I don’t recommend participating in illegal “tours” of them any more than I advocate breaking into museums or shoplifting. If you’re curious about them, however, you can learn more in Scott Carpenter’s article, Creeping Beneath Paris.