Père-Lachaise cemetery

Opened in 1804, the world-renowned Père-Lachaise cemetery, with its remarkable atmosphere, offers a unique insight into funerary art through the ages. Wind your way through this steep and leafy labyrinth, home to 70,000 graves. At 44 hectares, it is one of the largest green spaces in the capital; a paradise for birds, and cats and lizards too. Gothic tombs mingle with Haussmanian vaults, and modern designs rub shoulders with ancient mausoleums, sculptures, chapels and even a winged sphinx. Entry is free.

A veritable open-air museum

Dozens of celebrities are at rest in this peaceful setting, designed as an immense English-style garden. A sign at the entrance will help you locate the gravestones of mythic writers such as Jean de La Fontaine, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Molière and Honoré de Balzac, as well as actors and performers like Sarah Bernhardt, Édith Piaf and Yves Montand. The most visited gravestone is that of Jim Morrison, singer of The Doors, who died in Paris in 1971. Romantic souls shouldn’t miss the tombstone of Heloise and Abelard, the famous lovers from the Middle Ages.

They lived in Paris Region. Inside the homes of exceptional artists.