A Visit to Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris

Today you are going to visit the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris. One of the most famous cemeteries in the world and where every year, more than a million people will visit it.

You can visit Pere Lachaise Cemetery on your own or with a guided tour in English. If you choose the guided tour, check here the availability for the dates of your trip.

Start planning your trip to Paris with this post:

• How to Plan Your Trip to Paris
• and What to see in Paris in 5 days Itinerary guide with a detailed itinerary for your next trip to this great city.

Visit Pere Lachaise Cemetery

There are more than 70,000 tombs in Pere Lachaise cemetery. Many of them have more than one and two centuries old and where well-known people worldwide are buried.

This cemetery can be traversed by wide and narrow streets where you can see ancient tombs, some covered in green moss and in bad condition that gives them a slightly dark appearance.

Others are works of art with spectacular sculptures, and you can also see grandiose family pantheons.

Famous people in Pere Lachaise

Pere Lachaise is most of the people who visit him to search for the world-renowned and famous characters who are buried in this cemetery, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Moliere, Chopin, Abelardo, and Eloisa, among others.

When Pere Lachaise Cemetery was built

This cemetery was built on Napoleon’s orders in 1804 and became one of the most prestigious in Paris when they moved the remains of Fontaine and Moliére in 1804.

As you tour Pere Lachaise Cemetery, you can see one of the world’s best collections of funeral sculptures.

The tombs’ sculptures were associated with the prestige of the person who was to be buried there, so each family hired the best sculptors to make their grave or that of their loved one more spectacular than the previous ones.

Many of the sculptures are quite gloomy and creepy, where you can see the pain, but others are sweeter, more exciting, or representative.

There is a small map at the entrance where they tell you which are the best-known tombs, although you can also download them on your mobile.

What are the most visited tombs?

Undoubtedly, the most visited tomb is Jim Morrison’s. We had a little trouble finding it because it’s far from the main entrance, but it was where everyone was almost like a remote-headed person when we arrived.

There was a little fence that won’t let you get too close; it must be that some of them have gone too far.

We also went to see Chopin’s grave and Moliére’s. But we couldn’t see Oscar Wilde’s because we were a bit fair in time and it was a long way from the entrance, so it didn’t give us time.

Sunset from Pere Lachaise

You can also enjoy Pere Lachaise’s fantastic view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower, and even more so at sunset. So here I leave you the photo with the sunset that we could enjoy that day!

Despite the many visitors it receives each year, it is a tranquil visit that this Parisian cemetery can make.

In addition to visitors who search for famous characters, you can also see art students who come to contemplate the sculptures or pay homage to the different artists buried in Père Lachaise cemetery.

Others simply come to get distracted, escape the Parisian hustle and bustle, and watch a beautiful Parisian sunset.

Opening Times at Père Lachaise

November to mid-march

• from 8h to 17h30 from Monday to Friday.
• from 8h30 to 17h30 on Saturdays.
• and from 9h to 17h30 on Sundays and public holidays.

From mid-March to October

• from 8h à 18h from Monday to Friday.
• from 8h30 à 18h on Saturdays.
• and from 9h to 18h on Sundays and public holidays.

Attention: The last visitors are admitted at the latest 15 minutes before the closing.

Pere Lachaise Cemetery has Free entry.

How to Get Pere Lachaise Cemetery

The 5 entries of the cemetery :

You can borrow these different entrances, but beware of their pedestrian accessibility or cars.

Main Entrance:

This entrance is the largest of the Père-Lachaise cemetery.
Address: 8 boulevard de Menilmontant, 75020 Paris.
Access: Pedestrians, cars, wheelchair users.
Transport: Metro Philippe Auguste (line 2) – Bus 61, 69.

Entry : “Porte du Repos” (Close to the Conservation office) :

This entrance is the one leading to the conservation building, 20 m on the left.
Address: 16 rue du Repos, 75020 Paris.
Access: Pedestrians, a wheelchair user.
Transport: Metro Philippe Auguste (line 2)

Entry : “Porte des Amandiers” (close to Pere-Lachaise metro station):

Pedestrian gate with Doric pilasters and pediment opening on a staircase. A kiosk surmounts it.
Address: Boulevard de Menilmontant, 75020 Paris.
Access: Pedestrians. A staircase of 30 steps gives access to the cemetery.
Transport : Metro Père-Lachaise (line 2, 3) – Bus 61, 69.

Entry “Porte Gambetta” (close to the Crematorium) :

Adress: 71, rue des Rondeaux, 75020 Paris 20.
Access: Pedestrians, cars, wheelchair users.
Transport: Métro Gambetta (ligne 3, 3bis) – Bus 26, 60, 61, 69, 102.

Porte de la Réunion :

Transport: Métro Alexandre Dumas (ligne 2) – Bus 76.

Mapa de Google Maps

Check the map of Pere Lachaise Cemetery on Google Maps

What do you think of the visit to cemeteries? When you travel, think about visiting a cemetery like Pere Lachaise’s, or don’t you like the idea? I’d like to hear from you!

Plan Your Trip to Paris

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Last Updated on 3 October, 2023 by Veronica