Paris Catacombs tours and tickets for 2026 include entry, audio guides, and special-access tours. Check access type, inclusions, and tour format before booking.
A straightforward option for visitors who want Catacombs entry with an audio guide.
Catacombs Paris Tickets is an independent guide, not the official attraction or operator website. Some links are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you while helping you compare ticket types and access.
Compare entry tickets, audio-guide options, Seine cruise combinations, and access-focused tours. These six options appear in descending review order. Check access type, guided format, traveller feedback, and current starting price before choosing.
1
Most reviewed
★★★★★ 4.64 · 12,387 reviews
This entry ticket has the most reviews among these six options. Choose it if you want Catacombs admission and an audio guide without adding a river cruise or access-focused tour format.
2
Combined ticket
★★★★★ 4.50 · 1,625 reviews
This combines Catacombs entry, an audio guide, and a Seine River cruise. It suits travellers who want two Paris experiences in one booking and has more reviews than the other cruise combinations shown.
3
Cruise option
★★★★★ 4.64 · 1,115 reviews
This option pairs Catacombs entry and an audio guide with a river cruise option. Its starting price is lower than the other cruise combinations shown, so check the selected option and inclusions before booking.
4
Special access
★★★★★ 4.67 · 1,024 reviews
This special access tour is for visitors comparing beyond a standard entry ticket. Its title does not specify the access details, so review the booking page carefully to confirm the tour format and included areas.
5
Ticket and cruise
★★★★★ 4.18 · 952 reviews
This ticket combines the Catacombs with a Seine River cruise, without an audio guide named in its title. Compare its booking details with the other cruise options if audio commentary is important to your visit.
6
Restricted access
★★★★★ 4.90 · 533 reviews
This restricted access tour has the highest rating among these six options, with the fewest reviews. Consider it if the access-focused format matters more than choosing the most widely reviewed listing.
Compare six Paris Catacombs booking options by starting price, traveller feedback and format. Straight admission sits beside cruise combinations and access-focused tours, so check which named inclusions match your plan.
| Option | From | Rating | Reviews | Format | Includes | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paris: Catacombs Entry Ticket and Audio GuideStraight Catacombs entry with an audio guide and the most reviews. | €38 | 4.64 | 12,387 | Entry ticket | Catacombs entry + audio guide | Travellers wanting straightforward admission without a cruise or access-focused tour. |
| Paris: Catacombs Entry & Seine River Cruise with Audio GuideCombines Catacombs entry, audio commentary, and a Seine River cruise. | €115 | 4.50 | 1,625 | Combined ticket | Entry, audio guide + river cruise | Visitors who want Catacombs entry and a Seine cruise in one booking. |
| Paris: Catacombs, Audio Guide and River Cruise OptionPairs entry and audio guidance with a selectable river cruise option. | €90 | 4.64 | 1,115 | Cruise option | Entry, audio guide + cruise option | Travellers comparing a lower-priced cruise option before selecting their booking details. |
| Paris: Catacombs Special Access TourAn access-focused Catacombs tour with details to check before booking. | €139 | 4.67 | 1,024 | Access-focused tour | Special access; check details | Visitors prioritising an access-focused tour over a standard entry ticket. |
| Paris: Catacombs Ticket and Seine River CruiseCombines a Catacombs ticket with a Seine River cruise. | €129 | 4.18 | 952 | Combined ticket | Catacombs ticket + river cruise | Travellers who want both experiences and do not need an audio guide named. |
| Paris: Catacombs Restricted Access TourA restricted-access tour with the highest rating in this comparison. | €190 | 4.90 | 533 | Access-focused tour | Restricted access; check details | Visitors focused on restricted access and stronger traveller ratings over review volume. |
These Paris Catacombs products differ by access format, audio guide, cruise pairing, traveller feedback and starting price. Answer four quick questions to narrow the six bookable options.
Your closest match will appear after all four answers are selected.
The lowest starting price is not always the right fit when you want a cruise combination or an access-focused tour.
Tickets and tours can look similar while following different booking rules and access formats. Check these details before paying, so you can choose a suitable option and arrive ready for the underground route.
Official tickets are released only seven days ahead
A future date may not appear because it is outside the booking window, not because every ticket has sold out. Paid visitors need a timed online booking, so waiting until arrival can disrupt your plans.
Fix: Count back seven days from your planned visit and check for timed tickets then. If you book through another seller, confirm the date, entry time and ticket type before you pay.
Special access may cover different areas and tour formats
Special-access and restricted-access tours are not the same as a standard entry ticket. Their titles alone do not explain the route, guide service or areas included, which can lead to paying for the wrong experience.
Fix: Open the full listing and check the included access areas, guided format, meeting instructions and exclusions. Choose an access-focused tour only when those details match what you want to see.
The underground route has stairs and no step-free access
The visit includes 131 steps down and 112 steps up. The Catacombs are not suitable for wheelchair users or visitors needing step-free access, and enclosed underground passages may not suit every traveller.
Fix: Check that everyone in your group can manage 243 steps and a 1.5 km underground circuit. Consider another Paris activity if anyone needs step-free access or finds enclosed spaces difficult.
Large bags cannot be stored at the entrance
Suitcases, large bags and motorcycle helmets are not allowed inside. There is no cloakroom, so arriving with luggage can mean missing your timed entry while you look for another place to leave it.
Fix: Arrange luggage storage before travelling to the Catacombs. Bring only a small bag no larger than 40 × 30 × 20 cm, and carry it in front of your body or in your hand.
Use these details to plan your time underground. They cover opening hours, the one-way route, audio guides, facilities, photography, children and transport to Denfert-Rochereau.
The Catacombs open Tuesday to Sunday from 09:45 to 20:30, with last admission at 19:30.
The Catacombs are closed every Monday. They also close on 1 January, 1 May and 25 December.
They are published as open on several public holidays, including 14 July, 15 August, 1 November and 11 November, unless the date falls on a Monday.
A late slot still needs enough time for the full underground circuit. Aim to be at the entrance before your reserved time.
Allow about one hour underground for the public route and audio guide.
The visitor circuit is 1.5 km long. It passes through former quarry galleries before reaching the ossuary.
Published visit times differ between 45 minutes and about an hour. An hour is the safer planning figure if you want to follow the commentary.
Leave extra time before and after the visit for entry checks and travel from the separate exit.
Enter at 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy and exit at 21 bis Avenue René-Coty.
The entrance is on Place Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th arrondissement. Go to this address for your timed entry.
The route is one-way, so you do not return to the entrance after the visit. The exit is at a different address.
The shop and bookshop are near the exit. Plan onward travel from Avenue René-Coty rather than returning to the entrance first.
Paid individual admission includes an audio guide in French, English, Spanish or German.
The guide is played through an immersive headset and starts automatically during the route. It lasts about one hour.
Free tickets do not include the audio guide. It is listed separately at €5 where needed.
A French audio-described version is available for visually impaired visitors. It includes descriptions of tactile models on site.
The underground temperature stays around 14°C and the galleries can feel humid, even in summer.
Wear shoes that are comfortable for stairs and walking. A light jacket or warm layer helps underground and while waiting outside.
The site advises visitors to dress warmly because outdoor waits can be long, including in winter.
The Catacombs are underground former quarries, not a weather-dependent outdoor attraction. Summer heat above ground does not make the route warmer.
No. Eating, drinking, smoking and alcohol are prohibited on the underground circuit.
Finish food and drinks before entering, then plan a meal after the visit near Denfert-Rochereau or the exit.
Animals are not allowed on the circuit. Guide dogs for blind visitors are allowed under the published conditions.
Do not touch the bones. Removing or attempting to remove them can lead to legal proceedings.
Restrooms are available at both the entrance and exit, and a gift shop and bookshop are near the exit.
The entrance and exit are separate, so use the entrance facilities before going underground if you need them.
The shop is at 21 bis Avenue René-Coty, beside the exit. It is useful if you want to browse after completing the route.
Wi-Fi, phone charging and seating facilities are not published for the visitor route.
Personal photos are allowed, but flash and tripods are prohibited.
You can photograph the quarry passages, inscriptions and ossuary for private use while following staff instructions.
Keep moving through narrow parts of the route and do not touch or move bones for a photo.
Commercial photography rules are not published in the standard visitor information. Arrange separate permission if your work is not for private use.
Children under 14 must visit with an adult, and strollers are not allowed underground.
Children aged 8 to 17 have a published child ticket rate, while children under 8 enter free. Paid child tickets include the audio guide.
Parents with infants must use a baby carrier rather than a stroller. Consider the enclosed route and stairs before bringing very young children.
The Catacombs are a historic ossuary containing real human remains. They may unsettle some children.
Use Denfert-Rochereau for Metro lines 4 and 6 or RER B.
Denfert-Rochereau is beside Place Denfert-Rochereau and the visitor entrance at Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy.
Buses 38 and 68 also serve the area. For a taxi, use the visitor entrance address rather than the exit.
Paid parking is listed at 83 Boulevard Saint-Jacques. A Vélib’ station is listed at 2 Avenue René-Coty, near the exit.
Most visitors remember the skull-lined walls, but the Paris Catacombs make more sense as two places laid over each other. First came an industrial landscape of former limestone quarries. Later, Paris turned part of it into a municipal ossuary, then shaped it into a place for public reflection.
The Catacombs are a former quarry transformed into Paris’s collective memory underground.
The passages are not natural caves. They were cut through limestone by quarry workers, long before they held human remains. The rough stone and changing scale of the galleries belong to a working underground landscape.
The former Tombe-Issoire quarries gave Paris a vast space beneath the city. That earlier purpose explains the contrast between plain quarry corridors and the formal displays that appear later.
In the late eighteenth century, overcrowded Paris cemeteries created serious public-health problems. Authorities began transferring remains into the former quarries, creating a municipal ossuary rather than a conventional underground burial ground.
Charles Axel Guillaumot, an inspector of the quarry administration, helped prepare the site and organise the transfers. The ossuary was consecrated on 7 April 1786, then opened to public visits by appointment in 1809.
The arrangements visitors see were not simply how the remains arrived underground. From 1810 to 1814, Inspector Héricart de Thury reorganised the ossuary with plaques, monuments and carefully composed bone façades.
Rows of skulls and long bones create a measured visual rhythm. Behind that order lie many more remains, making the visible walls both a memorial display and a boundary between visitors and the larger burial space.
Notice the transition from quarry passages to arranged memorial spaces. The Catacombs become clearer when you see them as Paris solving a practical problem, then giving that solution a solemn public form.
Official Paris Catacombs tickets are released seven days before the visit date. You cannot normally book standard admission several weeks or months in advance.
If your preferred date is not yet displayed, it may simply be outside the booking window. Check again seven days before your planned visit.
Paying visitors should book a timed-entry ticket online before arriving. Walk-in admission is not guaranteed, especially when popular entry times are fully booked.
Visitors eligible for free admission follow a different process and can collect their tickets at the entrance with valid supporting documentation.
Official admission costs €31 for adults, €25 for eligible reduced-rate visitors and €15 for children aged 8–17. Children under eight enter free.
Paid individual tickets include an audio guide. Guided tours and third-party experiences may have different prices and inclusions.
Paris Catacombs tickets are issued for a selected entry time. Visitors should arrive at the time stated on their booking confirmation.
There is no general late-arrival grace period you should rely on. If you are delayed, contact your ticket provider, as entry outside your reserved slot is not guaranteed.
No. Standard admission covers the official 1.5-kilometre public visitor circuit, including the historic quarry galleries and underground ossuary.
It does not provide access to the wider closed quarry network. If a guided tour advertises special access, check exactly which authorised areas are included before booking.
Yes. The standard paid individual ticket includes an immersive audio guide available in English, French, Spanish and German.
Free-admission tickets do not include the guide. Eligible visitors can purchase it separately for €5 at the ticket desk.
Most visitors should allow approximately one hour to complete the underground route, which is around 1.5 kilometres long.
The circuit is one-way, with 131 steps down and 112 steps up. Allow additional time for arrival, entry checks and reaching your next destination.
Children can visit, but those under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. The Catacombs recommend the experience particularly for families with children aged ten and above.
The route contains real human remains, dim passages, uneven floors and steep stairs. Strollers are not permitted, so consider your child’s comfort before booking.
Only small bags measuring less than 40 × 30 cm are permitted. They must be carried in front of your body or by hand to protect the narrow passageways and displays.
Suitcases and large backpacks are prohibited, and there is no cloakroom. Arrange luggage storage elsewhere before arriving for your timed visit.
No. The underground route is not wheelchair-accessible because it involves steep staircases, narrow passages and uneven surfaces. There is no step-free visitor route.
The visit is also discouraged for people with significant mobility limitations, claustrophobia or cardiac or respiratory insufficiency. Check the official accessibility guidance before booking.
The underground temperature stays around 14°C throughout the year, and the galleries can be humid. Wear comfortable closed-toe shoes with good grip.
Bring a light jacket or sweater, even in summer. Avoid high heels or slippery footwear because some passages have uneven floors and stairs.
Yes. Personal photography is permitted, but flash photography and tripods are prohibited.
Never touch, move or remove human remains for photographs. Respect the historic burial site, keep passageways clear and follow staff instructions.
The entrance is at 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, beside Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris’s 14th arrondissement.
The exit is at 21 bis Avenue René-Coty, a different location. The route is one-way, so plan your onward journey from the exit rather than the entrance.
The Catacombs normally open Tuesday to Sunday from 09:45 to 20:30, with final admission at 19:30. They are closed every Monday.
Annual closures include 1 January, 1 May and 25 December. Check the official calendar for exceptional closures before travelling.
If your preferred date or time is unavailable, check other entry slots or another date. Official tickets are released seven days before the visit, so dates further ahead may not yet be on sale.
You can also compare authorised third-party tours, but confirm that underground admission is included. Avoid unofficial resale offers or tours that only visit locations above ground.
