This will be my third time in Paris but I haven't yet been to Pere Lachaise cemetery. Any hints? Is there a way to know where we're going or how to find specific graves?
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
If you follow the recommended approach outlined in Rick Steves' Paris guidebook, you're able to pretty much see all the major graves.
Best tip is as outlined in guidebook - start by taking the metro to the stop immediately after Pere Lachaise and work through the cemetary from the back gate towards the front.
If you go online ahead of time to the Pere Lachaise website, you can see a complete list of who is buried there (and where). You could buy a map from one of the many vendors or shops around the cemetary that sell them, but I never bothered. If a particular grave I wanted to see wasn't in the RS tour, I just asked another tourist if I could take a quick look at their map to get my bearings.
Posted by
OP
Victoria, BC, Canada
14 posts
Awesome, thanks. I found the Pere Lachaise website and it was very useful!
Posted by
Providence, RI, US
2 posts
I agree with the other writer that you don't need a map if you're going to follow RS -- but if you want to be on your own and here is where I part company with the other writer, don't rely on asking others; you'll be wasting your time. If you want to spend some quality time in one of the grandest and most incredible outdoor museum then by all means get a map.
The official maps are free but the best map is the Editions Metropolitain and sold only by the distributor near the Pere Lachaise metro entrance to the cemetery. Steer away from the florists and other shops. The maps they sell are of poorer quality and cost more to boot!
Unless I'm mistaken it's one of RS' cardinal rules to do your own thing and Pere Lachaise is truly a fantastic place to break free from the herd. I fell in love with the place and so will you.
You might also want to check out the website (in English) http://www.pariscemeteries.com. Lots of good information and helpful maps you can download
Posted by
oregon
131 posts
The cemetery was a highlight of my visit last summer. A breeze to get to on the metro, a welcome leafy respite from the city streets and the memorials to Nazi brutality that I hadn't expected as I searched for the most famous graves. I used the RS book and ended up going backwards! But it doesn't matter. Besides that, I was mostly writing to say that even if you are not "into" photography, with my basic digital camera every photo was so perfectly brooding and cool- three dead roses on a grate with a tragic angel, etc!
Posted by
Hays, Kansas, USA
16 posts
I loved Pere Lachaise! It was really something great to see. If I remember right there are signs that tell you which direction to go to get to specific graves.
Posted by
Hixson, Tennessee, USA
17 posts
My friend and I also loved this place, but I think a good map is essential. You won't believe how huge it is, and my son wanted a photo of Jim Morrison's grave and it was almost impossible to find!!! Contrary to what I had been told!! There were even grounds persons working nearby that we asked, but we just sort of accidentaly found it. We didn't have the official map, just one bought fron a "vendor" out front, so I would look for the real one mentioned above. If you like to take photos, it is a magical place, so many different types of angels!! Don't miss it, but give yourself plenty of time, as in hours. Also, it is pretty rough walking, as the ground is very uneven and the "streets or paths" are cobblestones or gravel if I remember correctly, so wear comfortable shoes. It is not like one of our "manicured" cemetaries!
Posted by
Moose Jaw, SK, Canada
149 posts
For an interesting read, I suggest a quirky novel by Bill Richardson named "Waiting for Gertrude." It is about a community of feral cats living in Pere Lachaise cemetery who are reincarnations of some of the people buried there. I haven't yet been to Pere Lachaise myself but found the book to be entertaining.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
We visit this cemetery on every trip to Paris. It is incredibly beautiful. Rick has great advice on taking Metro to LaGambetta stop so the walk through the cemetery is down hill--it is very hilly terrain. However, at the other end you will find a small info kiosk where maps may be purchased ($1 or so a few years ago). The Montparnasse Cemetery also has some interesting people buried there.
Posted by
Boston, MA, United States
1806 posts
Ashley: I don't think Steve from R.I. understood my post. I am NOT recommending you ask other tourists how to locate graves. I toured Pere Lachaise on my own and the only thing I asked from a fellow tourist was to borrow their map to locate a grave not on the RS tour.
Yep, I'm cheap and trying to save money where I can when I travel! And if that means another tourist shells out 1 or 2 Euros for a map and is willing to let me borrow it for 5 seconds so I don't have to buy one, great. I was also more than willing to turn over my RS Paris guidebook to them for the same amount of time, so I consider it a fair trade - they didn't spend $18 for the guidebook...I did.
Posted by
Pearland, TX, USA
852 posts
http://troi.cc.rochester.edu/~tdip/tomsguidetoparis.htm
... above is Tom's Guide to Paris. If you don't find the information you want, go to the bottom of Tom's home page to find "Contact Me". Click on it and email your remaining question(s) to Tom...
This will convey you to photos of your cemetery:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=Pere+Lachaise+&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
... bon voyage! P