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At once a Parisian monument, an immense 44-hectare park and an open-air museum, the Père-Lachaise cemetery is an inexhaustible source of pleasure for walkers, with over 3 million visitors every year. Here's a closer look at the must-sees in this unique place in Paris.
The most popular cemetery in Paris, Père-Lachaise is also the most coveted, and many personalities have the honor of spending eternity there. A stroll among the graves plunges visitors into a truly atypical exploration of French and international cultural heritage: Honoré de Balzac, Colette, Eugène Delacroix, Raymond Radiguet, Maria Callas, Sarah Bernhardt... the list of personalities resting here is long, with more than 40 singers, 40 composers, 75 painters... and many more!
In 1817, Héloïse and Abélard, the amants maudits, were the first celebrities to enter the cemetery, which was still new at the time. The adjoining remains of Molière and Jean de La Fontaine followed in the same year, although for various reasons, we're not sure it's really them under the stone... As for Frédéric Chopin, his body rests here... but not his heart (which is in Poland). The composer, afraid of being buried alive, had asked for this organ to be removed...
When you come across a few madeleines resting on a stone, it's because you've arrived at the grave of Marcel Proust, and if you see a willow tree just opening, it's because you've arrived at the grave of Alfred de Musset, who was particularly fond of this tree. The grave of Jim Morrison is one of the most popular, attracting crowds of admirers on the anniversary of his death, every July 3. Other witnesses to our history are the different walls dedicated to our fallen, such as the Mur des fédérés.
Far from the gloomy image of cemeteries, Père-Lachaise is also a place for romantic strolls, featuring amorous... and even erotic ornamentation!
A stone sphinx topped by gigantic wings announces the tomb of Irish writer Oscar Wilde, banished to his homeland for a homosexual kiss and exiled to France at the end of the 19th century. Over the years, the sphinx has naturally been covered with lipstick stickers and amorous graffiti... In 2011, a protective glass panel was installed to preserve the integrity of this listed monument, whilst continuing to honour the memory of the writer.
Another recumbent does not rest easy! The grave of Victor Noir, a journalist killed during the Commune, is adorned with a mortuary statue carved just as the body of the deceased was found: lying on his back, with a peculiar prominence under his pants. This was followed by a number of popular beliefs about fertility, making this burial the most visited by female visitors, as evidenced by the very localized wear of the sculpture... Even today, Victor Noir’s grave remains one of the most visited in Père-Lachaise.
For a stroll among the cemetery's other rascals: Felix Faure, the former president who died in the midst of adultery, Guillaume Apollinaire, who is only a few meters from his mistress Marie Laurencin, buried with their love letters on her heart, or Edith Piaf, whose husbands or lovers are buried nearby. Despite these surprising anecdotes, respect for the dead and remembrance remain at the heart of every visit.
Finally, this immense garden, at once refined and wild, offers surprises for the eyes at every turn, so varied is the flora. More than 5,000 trees dot the cemetery, including a 12-metre-high, century-old maple tree, a horse chestnut with a circumference of 3.45 metres, also a century old, and numerous rarities such as a wig tree, a gutta-percha and two ginkgo biloba trees! Covering 44 hectares, Père-Lachaise is the largest green space within the city limits of Paris, an exceptional green oasis in the heart of the capital.
Admirable sculptures also contribute to the cemetery's aesthetic appeal, bearing witness to a true funerary art: a couple reunited for eternity, a grieving widow, a soldier in battle or a man holding his wife's head in his hands are just a few examples of the many architectural originality of Père-Lachaise's approximately 70,000 graves. In addition, the cemetery's vast size means that it can be explored in a whole new way, with vast, well-maintained alleys and unexplored nooks and crannies, particularly precious in summer. These less-travelled paths invite you on truly unusual explorations throughout the seasons, revealing hidden treasures and little-known stories.
From season to season, the Père-Lachaise cemetery presents an ever-changing face. Romantic in spring, mysterious under the winter snow or colorful in autumn, the cemetery undergoes a metamorphosis throughout the year, much to the delight of photo enthusiasts and strollers alike!
Would you like to discover all the mysteries of the personalities buried in Père-Lachaise? Call in a specialist. Great stories and little anecdotes will no longer hold any secrets for you. Why not try the Père Lachaise investigative tour, an immersive and captivating experience!
Admission to Père-Lachaise Cemetery is completely free for all visitors. The cemetery is open every day of the year, including public holidays. On weekdays, it generally opens at 8am (8.30am on Saturdays), whilst on Sundays and public holidays, it opens at 9am. The cemetery usually closes at 5.30 pm (from November to mid-March) and 6 pm (from mid-March to October). We recommend checking the exact opening hours on the City of Paris’s official website before your visit, as they may vary depending on the time of year. Visitors are asked to leave the cemetery 15 minutes before closing time.
The main entrance is on Boulevard de Ménilmontant, easily accessible by metro (stations Père-Lachaise or Philippe Auguste). The Porte des Amandiers also offers convenient access, opposite the Père Lachaise metro station. The cemetery owes its name to Father François d’Aix de La Chaise, Louis XIV’s confessor for thirty-four years, who owned a country house on this site in the 17th century.
To find a grave at Père-Lachaise, several tools are available. The interactive map available on the official Paris je t'aime app allows you to locate the graves of famous figures and the main facilities (crematorium, visitor centre, toilets). This digital map makes it much easier to find your way around this vast 44-hectare site.
Free paper maps are also available at the various entrances and from the delivery tricycle at the Maison du 20e at the Porte des Amandiers (Tuesday to Friday, 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm, from April to October).
Allow between 1h30 and 3 hours to explore Père-Lachaise, depending on your route and interests. A quick tour of the most famous graves takes at least 1½ hours, whilst a more in-depth exploration of the architectural heritage and flora can easily take up half a day. The cemetery offers six themed routes to vary your experience.
Comfortable shoes are essential for walking along the cobbled and sometimes uneven paths of this 44-hectare park. Remember to bring water with you, particularly in summer, even though drinking fountains are located throughout the cemetery.
| Practical information | Addresses and opening times |
|---|---|
| Main entrance | Boulevard de Ménilmontant, opposite Rue de la Roquette, Paris 20th arrondissement |
| Porte du Repos entrance | 16 Rue du Repos, Paris 20th arrondissement |
| Porte des Amandiers entrance | Boulevard de Ménilmontant, opposite Père-Lachaise metro station, Paris 20th arrondissement |
| Porte Gambetta entrance | Rue des Rondeaux, opposite Avenue du Père-Lachaise, Paris 20th arrondissement |
| Porte de la Réunion entrance | 131 Rue de la Réunion, Paris 20th arrondissement |
| Metro | Père-Lachaise (lines 2 and 3), Philippe Auguste (line 2), Gambetta (lines 3 and 3bis) |
| Admission | Free |
| Approximate opening hours | 8am–6pm (subject to change depending on the season) |
| Average duration of visit | 1h30 to 3 hours |
