The most frequented necropolis in the world is Père Lachaise Cemetery. Established in 1805, this cemetery has gradually evolved into an authentic open-air museum, comprising 40,000 graves, sculptures, statues, and pyramids. Furthermore, it serves as a delightful location for leisurely strolls, adorned with numerous trees, paved pathways, and a splendid English garden.
Among the millions of individuals interred there, one may include the composer Frédéric Chopin, the authors Molière, Apollinaire, Oscar Wilde, Honoré de Balzac, Marcel Proust, and Jean de La Fontaine, as well as the vocal artists Édith Piaf and Yves Montand, along with the painters Eugène Delacroix, Jacques-Louis David, and Amedeo Modigliani.
The most recent tomb belongs to the renowned 1960s rock star Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the Doors, who passed away in Paris in 1971. This grave attracts thousands of visitors to the cemetery each year.
On 27 may 1871, the last of the Communard insurgents, cornered by government forces, fought a hopeless, all-night battle among the tombstones. In the morning, the 147 survivors were lined up against the Mur des Fédérés (wall of the Federalists) and shot. They were buried where they fall in a mass grave.
The Cemetery features five entrances and is accessible to the public daily from 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM, with extended hours from 7:30 AM to 6:00 PM during the summer months. Maps delineating the locations of notable graves are displayed throughout the cemetery and are available for purchase.
Père Lachaise opening hours :
From November 6th to March 15th:
- Monday to Friday: 8am – 5:30pm
- Saturday: 8:30am – 5:30pm
- Sunday and holidays: 9am – 5:30pm
From March 16th to November 5th:
- Monday to Friday: 8am – 6pm
- Saturday: 8:30am – 6pm
- Sunday and holidays: 9am – 6pm
Guided tour: every Saturday at 2:30pm without reservation. Rendez-vous point in front of the main entrance at the corner of Boulevard Ménilmontant and Rue du Repos street.
Access:
- Cemetery office : 16 rue du Repos 75020 Paris
- Main Entrance : 8 Blvd Menilmontant 75020 Paris
- Secondary Entrance : Rue des Rondeaux 75020 Paris
- Metro : Philippe Auguste (line 2)
Père Lachaise Cemetery Map
We put up a list of the most famous people buried in the cemetery with the number of their grave site on the map:
- 2 APOLLINAIRE Guillaume (1880-1918) (Div.86)
Writer, literary person and art critic - 4 BALZAC Honoré de (1799-1850) (Div.48)
Writer - 5 BEAUMARCHAIS Pierre Augustin CARON (1732-1799) (Div.28)
Writer (1732-1799) - 7 BIZET Georges (1838-1875) (Div.68)
Composer (“Carmen”) - 8 BOURDIEU Pierre (1930-2002) (Div.28)
Sociologist, writer - 12 CHAMPOLLION Jean-François (1790-1832) (Div.18)
Egyptologist, decipherer of hieroglyphics - 13 CHERUBINI Luigi (1760-1842) (Div.11)
Italian composer - 14 CHOPIN Frédéric (1810-1849) (Div.11)
Polish pianist, composer - 17 DAVID Jacques louis (1748-1829) (Div.56)
Painter - 18 DELACROIX Eugène (1798-1863) (Div.49)
painter - 22 DORÉ Gustave (1832-1883) (Div.22)
etcher, illustrator, painter and sculptor - 26 GÉRICAULT Théodore (1791-1824) (Div.12)
Painter - 28 GÜNEY Yilmaz (1937-1984) (Div.62)
Turkish writer, filmmaker, screenwriter and actor - 30 HAUSSMANN Georges Eugène (1809-1891) (Div.4)
Prefect of Seine, responsible for the great transformations of Paris during the 2nd Empire - 37 LA FONTAINE Jean de (1621-1695) (Div.25)
Writer - 43 MODIGLIANI Amadeo (1884-1920) (Div.96)
Italian painter - 44 MOLIÈRE Jean-Baptiste (1622-1673) (Div.25)
playwright, actor - 45 MONTAND Yves (1921-1991) (Div.44)
Actor, singer - 46 MORRISON Jim (1943-1971) (Div.6)
American poet, singer and composer - 47 MUSSET Alfred de (1810-1857) (Div.4)
- 52 PIAF Edith (1915-1963) (Div.97)
Singer - 53 PETRUCCIANI Michel (1962-1999) (Div.11)
Pianist, jazz composer - 54 PISSARO Camille (1830-1903) (Div.7)
Painter - 58 PROUST Marcel (1871-1922) (Div.85)
Writer - 70 WILDE Oscar (1854-1900) (Div.89)
Irish writer - 71 WRIGHT Richard (1908-1960) (Div.87)
African-American journalist, writer
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