Visiting the Paris Catacombs

Hours, prices and access verified by the Paris Catacombs Tours team — last checked August 14, 2026

Everything that decides how a visit to the ossuary goes: when it opens, what a ticket costs, how many steps there are, and where you come out. Read this first, then pick a departure from the Paris Catacombs Tours list.

Hours, closing days and the 19:30 cut-off

The Catacombs open Tuesday to Sunday, 09:45–20:30, and the last visitors are admitted at 19:30. Mondays are closed all year. Public-holiday hours can shift, so check the day before you travel if your date falls on one.

Admission — what you pay in 2026

Official admission is set by the Ville de Paris and includes the audio guide. Guided tours are a separate purchase and already carry entry inside the fare, so you never pay twice.

Only 200 people are allowed inside at once, so entry is by timed slot and can pause at busy moments. That cap is the single reason a reserved time matters more here than at most Paris sights.

Where to buy: the city box office, a guided departure, or on the day

Straight from the city. The Ville de Paris sells timed tickets through its own box office at billetterie-parismusees.paris.fr. This is the cheapest way in and it covers the whole 1.5 km public route.

A guided departure. Operators hold their own reserved slots, so you join a group instead of a queue, and five of them can open side chambers no ticket reaches. Admission is inside the fare.

On the day. The official advice is to book ahead, and in July and August the practical answer is that turning up without a slot rarely works. Treat a walk-up as a fallback, never a plan for a fixed date.

Getting to 1 avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 75014 Paris

1. Métro: Denfert-Rochereau (lines 4 and 6, RER B). Take Sortie 1 and the entrance gate is directly across the road.
2. On foot: about fifteen minutes south from Montparnasse, twenty from the Jardin du Luxembourg.
3. By taxi: allow extra time. Finding a cab in this part of the 14th can take longer than the ride.
4. Arrive early: guided groups ask for fifteen minutes before the start time, and two of them meet away from the entrance.

Where the visit ends — 21 bis avenue René-Coty

You do not come back out of the door you went in. The route is one way and surfaces nearly 700 metres away, which is exactly why there is no cloakroom and why bags over 40 × 30 × 20 cm are refused at the entrance. Carry nothing you would mind walking home with, and plan your onward journey from the exit rather than the entrance — the nearest stations there are Alésia and Mouton-Duvernet.

How long to allow

The city suggests about an hour for the 1.5 km circuit. Guided walks run 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours because the guide stops, and the restricted-access departures use the extra time on chambers the public route passes by. Add fifteen minutes at each end for the stairs, the bag check and the walk back across the neighbourhood.

Access, and who the site cannot admit

This visit suits anyone comfortable on stairs and content in a cool, enclosed space. There are 131 steps down and 112 back up, with no lift at either end, and the floors are uneven damp stone.

Children are welcome and under-14s must be with an adult. Guide dogs are admitted with their handler.

What to bring, and what will be refused

Once you know the practicalities, the question is which departure fits. The Paris Catacombs tours comparison puts duration, group size and access side by side, and what it is like inside covers the hour itself.