Paris Catacombs: wait in line or buy tour?

I went there when I was 19 and I still remember it. Not that many people, not that much light. I remember they provided each of us with a candle. I think it's, shall we say, more mechanized now. ;-) I haven't been back, mainly because of long lines.

Whether it's worth $66 to skip the line I don't know, depends on what kind of time-money tradeoff you can make. Think of it as about $40/hour for time-saving plus the info the tour guide provides. Lots of people spend more than that to get to and from the airport quickly and conveniently, as you can read any day on this board.

Is grandson mature enough to do this on his own? Get him to the Denfert-Rochereau Metro, put him in line or hand him off to the tour, and go check out the Rue Daguerre market and/or Montparnasse Cemetery and/or Jean Moulin Museum and/or Luxembourg Gardens. Pick him up wherever the Catacombs exit is (somewhere south). He'll probably get a bigger kick out of 700-year-old skulls than you will!

We were in Paris two weeks ago and our college-age kids wanted to see the catacombs. After one hour in line, we had moved only about ten feet. The adults left in frustration at that point, and the kids decided to stay. They ended up spending almost three hours in line! For them it was worth it. If it were me with one child, I'd pay the money for the tour. Time in Paris is too precious to spend in a three-hour line!

You can book timed tickets on line now for the catacombs from the official site for far less than $66 per person. I'd get tickets ahead if they are still available for your time.

OMG....I had no idea that the lines could even get that long. I wonder if the lines would be that long in November?

Now that timed tickets can be reserved on line that is the way to go. I think they are something like 10 Euro.
But we went a few years ago in November and there was no line and all and maybe 20 or so people under ground when we were. We actually had trouble finding the entrance because we knew about where it was and expected the line to be our clue -- no line -- we walked right in.

You can see our trip here:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2013/01/12/catacombs-a-creepy-paris-stroll/

We were just in Paris and bought the museum pass. Children less then 18 do not need a pass. I think we broke even on costs but we did not have to stand in line at the museums. The pass saved us considerable time at the Louvre. I think one museum required us to get free tickets for the kids by standing in line but the others did not. If the museum pass covered the Catacombs, I would definitely get the museum pass.

The Catacombs is not I think on the Museum Pass plus venues that are very limited in the numbers they admit like the Notre Dame Tower and I would l would think the Catacombs if it were on the pass generally don't let pass holders buck the line.

The Museum Pass has many advantages but doesn't include the Catacombs. :-(

Perhaps I was just lucky, or maybe it was because the exchange rate was not as favorable as it is this year, but I saw the Catacombs for the first time in August and also had maybe 10 people in front of me when I arrived shortly after lunch - so it was very easy to get in. There also weren't that many people queued up behind me and once I was down inside the catacombs, there were actually a number of times I was walking around down there with no other tourists in front of or behind me - a little creepy, but also very peaceful and cool down there.

Do wear good walking shoes down there that have a decent tread. The ground can be uneven in a lot of spots and it's pretty dark in a number of areas - so if you have a flashlight app on your cell phone, it can come in handy in some spots. And be prepared to walk down a number of steps to descend and up a good number of steps to get back to street level - and note that you won't be popping back up in the same place you entered - you'll be in another area when you return to street level. If your grandson likes watching scary movies, he might want to check Netflix for "Catacombs" or "As Above, So Below" - both were filmed inside the Paris Catacombs.

Janettravels....how awesome of you to share....I'm off to read about your adventures. Thank you.

We went on a Tuesday (maybe not the best day since other museums are closed). We arrived about 10:30 and waited in line for 3 hours. Admittedly we should have arrived earlier, but were enjoying a lazy morning. It was not my preferred activity, but my teenage children loved it and did not mind the wait. The wait time passed quickly as we enjoyed conversation with others around us and shared ideas and experiences about our travels with each other. It is what you make of it.

Be aware, however, there are no toilet facilities at the Catacombs. There is a public toilet not too far from the entrance. If you are in line like we were, you will want to know that.

There is a toilet right at the head of the stairs of the catacombs, at least there was when we were there, it may not be made available now? I would never wait 3 hours for anything especially when you can reserve timed tickets for this attraction, but I am glad your kids thought it was worth it. There is much to be said for letting each member of the family plan some of the time.

The main thing is to arrive early -- we got there at 8:50 a.m. and were inside within five minutes of it opening at 10 a.m. This was on a Tuesday. But at the same time, we did it with a tour (not a skip the line, we just queued early) and I would recommend a tour if you want more context on what you're actually looking at. There's some info right when you get below but then that's it. I think our tour was about 39 euros each plus the cost of entry and we thought it was worth it.