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Bucket list experience:

Last updated: 09 November, 2022
Expert travel writer: Anna Brooke

Pere Lachaise is the world’s most visited cemetery – hundreds of thousands of tourists come here annually to see the final resting places of France’s most flamboyant figures from the past 200 years.

Famous residents include painters Delacroix, Gericault and Ingres, writers Moliere, Balzac and Colette, composer Chopin, singers Edith Piaf and Jim Morrison, and the incomparable Oscar Wilde.

This sprawling 44-hectare park is also a feast of sculpture, with more than 69,000 ornate and ostentatious tombs. Fascinating and bizarrely enjoyable.

Recommended itineraries by our writers that include this experience

Price from: £2
Minimum age: Any
Age suitable: 13+
When: All year around

Getting there & doing it

The area is hilly, so it’s best to take the metro to Gambetta (near the tomb of Oscar Wilde), then walk downhill through the rest of the cemetery. Return via the Philippe Auguste metro station next to the main entrance, or Pere Lachaise metro station, 500m away.

A free map is available at the main entrance and better maps are available from vendors just outside the gates. You can also download a map (in French, but the famous names are obvious) from the main Paris website.

Wear comfortable shoes for navigating the cobbled pathways.

When to do it

The cemetery is open all year round, seven days a week.

Our selection of the best Viator tours of this attraction or activity

The Famous Graves of Père Lachaise - Self-Guided Audio Tour

The Famous Graves of Père Lachaise - Self-Guided Audio Tour

Paris

Come along and enjoy a walk through Père Lachaise, the largest cemetery in Paris and the most visited necropolis in the world, with this imm...

£13 | Rating 4.16 / 5 [30 ratings]

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Pere Lachaise Cemetery Walking Tour in Paris

Pere Lachaise Cemetery Walking Tour in Paris

Paris

The most surprising open-air museum in Paris, aka the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, is home to 70,000 graves and 5,300 trees in 44 hectares of lan...

€20 | Rating 4.91 / 5 [97 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Famous Graves of Père Lachaise Cemetery Guided Tour

Famous Graves of Père Lachaise Cemetery Guided Tour

Paris

Visit one of the most romantic and mysterious sites in Paris on a small-group walking tour through Père Lachaise Cemetery. Numbers are limit...

€21 | Rating 4.47 / 5 [388 ratings]

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Tour supplied by:

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Private Guided Tour to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

Private Guided Tour to Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

Paris

Discover the secrets of Père Lachaise cemetery on a walking tour with a private guide, who tells you about the lives and deaths of the famou...

€47 | Rating 4.44 / 5 [9 ratings]

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Our writer’s picks of the best places to stay near this experience, closest first

La Pavillon de la Reine

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Smack bang in the museum-filled Marais, this ivy-clad hotel with a spa and restaurant is a romantic spot for couples.

Official star rating:

Hotel Duo Paris

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

A designer boutique bolthole that’s perfectly positioned for the stylish, gay-friendly Marais district and Centre Pompidou.

Official star rating:

Hotel Bachaumont

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

A hip, Haussmann-style hotel is a fab base for anyone looking to mix sightseeing with shopping and nightlife. Uber-central, close to the Louvre, and with a brasserie and bars worth staying in for.

Official star rating:

Hotel des Grandes Ecoles

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

This tranquil hotel has a gorgeous garden and delightful, old-fashioned charm, in the heart of Paris.

Official star rating:

Destination guides including or relevant to this experience

Paris

Ile-de-France, France

Crammed with iconic buildings, world-class art and a culinary scene steeped in history, Paris is one of the world’s great capitals, overflowing with style, romance, and art de vivre. 

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Overview >

Our writer’s recommendations of other bucket list experiences our writer says you must do in this destination, closest first

Picasso Museum, Paris

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

One of the world’s most important Picasso museums, highlighting the artist’s prolific career and his own collection of art in a sumptuous 17th-century mansion.

Best for ages: 18+ | £12

Paris’ best shopping

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Paris has everything from luxury fashion and indie boutiques, to hip department stores, markets and quirky antiques bazaars.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free | Any

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La Conciergerie

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

This vast Medieval palace was most famous as the ‘antechamber to the guillotine’ in the French Revolution. Three thousand prisoners were tried and convicted here, including France’s last queen Marie Antoinette.

Best for ages: 13+ | £10

Other worthwhile experiences near this experience if you have time or interest..

An inside view of Victor Hugo's first editions drawings and home-made furniture on display
Experience

Victor Hugo’s House

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

The apartment where famous French poet and novelist Victor Hugo lived for 16 years, now a museum about his life and works.

Best for ages: 18+ | Free

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View of the landmark Belle Epoque Le Train Bleu restaurant inside the historic Gare de Lyon train station, built for the 1900 Paris World Exposition.
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Le Train Bleu

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Head to this grand train station brasserie, originally opened to serve passengers travelling to the 1900 World Fair, is to ogle the incredible decor – the room is laden with gilt, carved cherubs and blowsy frescoes of southern landscapes.

Best for ages: 13+ | Free

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Inside view of the museum with multiple structures of dinosaur bones on display
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Natural History Museum

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Founded in 1793 during the French Revolution, this impressive museum has four substantive galleries, with dinosaurs galore, all dedicated to preserving and educating about the natural world.

Best for ages: 4+ | £26

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A display of the most famous violins at the museum
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Museum of Music

Paris, Ile-de-France, France

Within the Paris Philharmonic, this museum contains over 7,000 historic musical instruments and music-related items.

Best for ages: 18+ | £7

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