Is the Paris Sewer tour part of the Sewer Museum or its own entry. I have only seen pricey guided tours there. Do they provide a guide? How much is it. Is it really claustrophobic?
Same for Catacombs - should I get onto a guided tour there or is it provided as part of the entry?
Posted by
Pacific Northwest
2679 posts
The Sewer Museum is a trip down into the old sewers. I was there last week. It’s underground but wide open once you’re down there. I read they offered tours, but we didn’t see any while we were there and just wandered around on our own. It does indeed smell down there!
Unless you’ve been to Paris many times and seen all the big sites, it’s not a great use of your time unless you’re fascinated with sewage/waste development over the years.
The Catacombs is more interesting. We wandered through without a guide and felt like we got enough info.
The stairwells going into and out of the Catacombs felt a little tight but once we were down there, it was okay…but it is a cave-like place so it’s really all about your threshold.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
Policies change over time, but years ago the sewer workers guided short look-arounds. As a bit of a gearhead I was intrigued by the early mechanics to keep the sludge moving (into the Seine). I prefer to think of the smell as intriguing, same as my attitude to wine and housekeeping at home. The tunnels are fairly spacious and may prompt you to hum the songs from Les Miserables.
One caution: The schedule for open or closed days of the week used to be somewhat eccentric so I suggest checking the website calendar.
In contrast, I have no interest in piles of bones and skulls. A chacoun son gout. -- to each person his taste. Or, for a French pun, A chacoun son egout.
Posted by
Los Angeles
4853 posts
there was a travel insert recently in the NYT and I believe they talked about the catacombs