The Secrets of Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

Everything you need to know before visiting one of the world’s most famous necropolises

I personally love cemeteries and actively seek them out when I travel. I could spend hours walking up and down the rows, reading all of the headstones. One of my favorite cemeteries to stroll through is the Cimetière Père Lachaise in the 20th arrondissement of Paris. This place is a walled time capsule. You’d be hard-pressed to find a present day grave marker that resembles anything like what you see here.

Walking the grounds you feel like you’re in a museum that’s actually a sprawling park, where tombs and art collide to tell the stories of times gone by. As you meander down the cobblestone paths, it is easy to let your mind wander to the past, to what once was, and who the characters might have been. There is a peacefulness here.

The cemetery was named after a priest who once heard the confessions of the King. It is one of the largest cemeteries in the world, 110 acres to be exact. It’s also really old. It first came to be in 1804.

Some of the world’s most celebrated people are buried at Pere Lachaise. Jim Morrison, Chopin, Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde and Gertrude Stein to name a few. However, one of the tombs here that I find to be the most fascinating, for many reasons, is that of the 12th century French philosopher and poet, Peter Abelard, and his lover Héloïse. Preceding Romeo and Juliet by about 500 years, you may have read about these two medieval lovers in a college lit or ancient history class. If not, here’s a brief synopsis: Héloïse, who was much younger than Abelard, was sent to him for private tutoring. She was the niece of one of the clergy members of Notre-Dame cathedral, canon Fulbert. Yes, their story starts, and ends, in Paris. Abelard and Héloïse fell in love and secretly married. Uncle Fulbert was so angry about the love affair (Abelard was thought to be at least 20 years older than Héloïse) that he had Abelard castrated. Shame and embarrassment drove him to became a monk, but he still continued to teach. Héloïse reluctantly became a nun. However, she embraced that life and eventually became the head of the Paraclete community of nuns. Their love story was made famous by the love letters that the two sent to each other after their tragic separation. It is these letters that catapulted the lovers into legendary status. Forlorn lovers often leave letters on the tomb as an homage or in hopes of finding their own soulmate. Abelard and Héloïse died in the 12th century, originally buried somewhere else, they were moved to Père Lachaise in 1817, making them the first famous people to be buried here.

Abelard and Heloise — Tomb of Abelard and Héloïse

Alongside the writers, artists, poets, and long lost lovers, you will also find everyday Parisians. It’s not uncommon to see a hearse driving down one of the tree lined streets followed by a procession.

In addition to the tombs, there is an abundance of plants and trees. There are more than 5000 trees here! You will find chestnut, hazelnut, maple, and even some unusual trees, like ginkgo biloba and gutta-percha trees. There is a 150 year old maple tree located along the back perimeter not far from the Gambetta entrance that is quite spectacular.

There are multiple entrances to the cemetery. The main entrance is at 21 Boulevard de Ménilmonant. This entrance is about a 3 minute walk from the Père Lachaise metro station. On the opposite side of the cemetery is the Gambetta entrance near the Gambetta metro station. There are also little pedestrian only entrances including one near the main entrance called the Repos entrance, and one on the south east side called the La Reunion entrance.

I follow the instagram account of the Père Lachaise conservateur, Benoit Gallot, @la_vie_au_cimetiere who, upon being onsite during the early morning hours captures photos of the creatures who live amongst the tombs. Like foxes 🦊 and cats 🐈‍⬛. Sometimes even kittens. His feed is really awesome and I highly recommend following him to see more of his creature discoveries around the cemetery. I love his quote: “Parce qu’il n’y a pas que la mort dans un cimetière” Translated means: because there is not only death in a cemetery. If you go early in the morning you just might see some of the famous foxes meandering through the rows of graves. So far, I’ve only seen a few cats.

The cemetery is open from 8AM to 6PM everyday except Saturday it opens at 8:30 and Sunday it opens at 9:00.

Sometimes it closes for a funeral service so be sure to check their website before heading there to make sure it’s open.

Admission is free and you can download a map here. There are 3 public restrooms onsite, including one at the main entrance.

The cemetery itself does not offer guided tours but there are outside organizations that do. Click here to book a guided tour.

Pets, bicycles and scooters are not allowed inside the cemetery. Neither is jogging or picnicking. It’s important to show respect while visiting.

If you’re planning a trip to Paris you may already have Père Lachaise on your list of places to go. If it’s not on your list it definitely should be!

How to get to Père Lachaise cemetery: Coming from the Marais you would take metro line 3 toward Gallieni and get off at Père Lachaise. From there it’s a 3 minute walk. From the left bank, take metro line 4 toward Port de Clignancourt and get off at Réamur-Sébastopol, then transfer to line 3 towards Gallieni and exit the train at Père Lachaise. You can also get off at the next stop, which is Gambetta, and enter from this entrance.

📍 16 Rue du Repos, 75020, Paris 🪦

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