"Stop! Here is the empire of the dead." OK, this is the only photo I was able to get. It is pretty dark down here, and the tunnels kind of go on forever. The tunnels are dimly-lit, and the people taller than about 5'6" had to be careful to keep their heads down and not knock themselves out. This is no place for those who are tall or claustrophobic (or who get creeped-out by stacks and stacks of real human femurs and skulls)! Honestly, it was interesting to go down here, but the wait is pretty long to get in (we arrived at 9:20, it opens at 10, and we didn't get in until probably 10:30). Once you descend about 100 steep, narrow stairs, and you see the first stack of bones -- well, all the other stacks (millions of people's remains are here) are pretty much the same. I was glad our student cards got us in for free (otherwise, it is 10 Euros). I wouldn't recommend it.
A little interesting background: When the city was first being built, these tunnels were created as miners quarried the stones to make the buildings above. Eventually, they realized that, if they kept mining the stones, the city above would collapse and fall into the tunnels. They stopped that -- then realized that since the cemeteries were filling-up, they could dig-up the oldest graves and bring the bones down here for storage. Two birds, one stone!
Later that same day, we visited the Musée d'Orsay. . .
The lovely museum, Musée d'Orsay, is housed in what used to be a very beautiful train station. Built in 1900, it became a museum in 1986. Its collection showcases French art from 1848 to 1914, and it houses one of the best collections of Impressionist art in the world. This is my favorite museum in Paris -- maybe even the world.
I enjoyed lunch in their beautiful restaurant: poached salmon atop a bed of pasta and peas in a lightcream sauce. Dessert? Peach melba panna cotta and an espresso. Then, I was ready to enjoy some serious art! Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in most of the collection. My favorites: Monet's haystacks and his turkeys!
The main hall houses some sculptures, including this miniature of the Statue of Liberty. The full-sized statue was a gift of friendship from France to the United States in 1886.
The museum's ultra-modern cafe, which is located next to a terrace where visitors can go outside for an amazing view of the Seine river, The Louvre, and Tuileries (and lots of Paris, as well).
One small corner of the Louvre across the Seine -- that museum is enormous!
Montmartre and La Basilique du Sacré Cœur in the distance.
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