The Catacombes de Paris has been for a long while an “insolite” place to visit while in Paris, and the perfect place to escape the stiffling heat of August. It’s even slightly warmer than the cold January/February weather outdoors too.

Down, down, down in the belly of Paris, where the bones of hundreds of thousands are now stacked to rest forever (except occasionally when some a**h*les destroy some and then the exhibit is closed down for weeks on end to set it all right…yes there are actually people that dare do such a thing). I hope people pee on their tombstone when they are gone…see how they like it!

Well, back to the title of this post, I was always surprised by the lack of exploitation of a boutique at the end of a visit of the galleries of bones. Every other museum has you exit through a boutique to entice you to buy souvenirs and trinkets, books and postcards. Well çone has opened! About 8 months ago, Erwann Benoit, who had the bright idea, got the permission to open his store, a private affair mind you. No help from Paris or the Catacombes, a museum owned by the city of Paris. But he is courageous, and has a great smile, is open and friendly, always looking for THE perfect item for his store to please his customers, whether it’s neon glow-in-the-dark skeleton key chains, or a pocket book on what’s free in Paris… his boutique is bound to be fun to browse after a tour in Paris’ most morbid exhibit.

I bet he’s busy around Halloween!

Comptoir des Catacombes

31 rue Rémy Dumoncel

75014 Paris

Tuesday-Sunday 10h30-17h00 (5pm)