Paris Catacombs Opening Hours and Visitor Guide

The Paris Catacombs opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 9:45 am to 8:30 pm, with last admission at 7:30 pm, and the site is closed on Mondays, per the official useful information page. Google Maps shows the same. This guide covers the Paris Catacombs opening hours by day, closing dates, the entrance, the best time to go and what to know at the gate. For prices, my comparison of every Paris Catacombs ticket is the place to start.

Paris Catacombs Opening Hours

Today is Saturday 7 November 2026, and per Google Maps the Catacombs are open from 9:45 am to 8:30 pm today. The week looks like this:

Day	Hours per Google Maps
Monday	Closed
Tuesday	9:45 am to 8:30 pm
Wednesday	9:45 am to 8:30 pm
Thursday	9:45 am to 8:30 pm
Friday	9:45 am to 8:30 pm
Saturday	9:45 am to 8:30 pm
Sunday	9:45 am to 8:30 pm

The official Paris Catacombs opening hours agree with Google Maps and add the last admission time of 7:30 pm. It lists the closing days as 1 January, 1 May and 25 December, and says the Catacombs are open on 14 July, 15 August, 1 November and 11 November. I did not find a seasonal timetable, so the Paris Catacombs opening hours look the same all year. Because tickets are timed, the slot on your booking matters more than the closing time.

Paris Catacombs Opening Times and Last Admission

The Paris Catacombs opening hours matter because the number of people underground is capped at 200 at once. The official page says entrance may be temporarily interrupted in case of very large crowds. So an early slot is safer than a late one, and arriving close to the 7:30 pm last admission leaves you with an hour to see a circuit the site says takes 45 minutes to an hour. Guided tours sit inside the Paris Catacombs opening hours but run on their own start times that you pick when booking, so check the listing on the day you want.

Are the Paris Catacombs Open to the Public

Yes, within the Paris Catacombs opening hours. The Catacombs are a City of Paris museum and open to everyone, with no authorisation needed, according to the official history page. The ossuary was first opened to visitors by appointment in 1809. The official site says it now welcomes nearly 550,000 visitors a year. Booking is online and timed, and the before-you-visit page says online booking only, 7 days in advance. Visitors with free entry, such as disabled visitors and their carers, can instead collect tickets at the front desk with proof on the day, and the site says they are guaranteed entry.

Are the Paris Catacombs Open Today, and Why Are They Closed Sometimes

Beyond Mondays and the three holidays in the Paris Catacombs opening hours, the Catacombs can close for other reasons. Wikipedia records that they were shut for the whole of September 2009 after vandalism and reopened on 19 December of that year. It also says renovation work in 2026 installed new lighting and ventilation, restored bone walls and prepared new audio guides. I could not confirm from the official pages whether that work affects any dates this winter, so check the booking page before you plan around a particular day of the Paris Catacombs opening hours.

Paris Catacombs Entrance

The visitors’ entrance is at 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, on Place Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th arrondissement. Google Maps places the Denfert-Rochereau station about 40 metres from the Catacombs, which matches the guide notes on the tours I compared. One tour describes using Exit 1 of the metro station and finding the glass doors and sign across the street, to the right of the small green building that was the former entrance.

You leave somewhere else. The exit is at 21 bis Avenue Rene-Coty, nearly 700 metres from the entrance, which is why there is no cloakroom and why the official page asks you to bring only a small bag. The circuit is one-way, so you cannot go back.

How to Get to the Paris Catacombs

The official page names the access: metro and RER B to Denfert-Rochereau, buses 38 and 68, paid parking on Boulevard Saint-Jacques and a Velib station at 2 avenue Rene-Coty. From the official page and the tour listings, the metro lines at Denfert-Rochereau are line 4 and line 6. By my straight-line count from Google Maps coordinates, other stations within a short walk are Saint-Jacques (about 5 minutes), Mouton-Duvernet (about 5 minutes), Raspail (about 10 minutes) and Alesia (about 12 minutes). These times are my estimates, using straight-line distance times 1.3 at 4.8 km per hour.

If you are booking a tour, read its meeting point carefully. The ExperienceFirst guide waits at the entrance with an orange sign, the City Wonders guide in a blue polo shirt or jacket, and The Tour Guy meets you in front of Cafe Oz on Place Denfert-Rochereau, 15 minutes before your slot.

Best Time to Visit the Paris Catacombs

I could not find an official page that names the quietest days, so I would not promise one. The cap of 200 visitors and the timed tickets work in your favour on any day, and the official advice on the before-you-visit page is that waiting outside can be long even in winter, so dress warmly. Underground the temperature is a constant 14 degrees Celsius, so the weather matters only for the queue.

Whatever the season, the Paris Catacombs opening hours stay the same. Open-Meteo data for 2025 puts November at 13 rainy days with sunset around 5:10 pm, and July at 18 rainy days, the wettest month in that year. August had 6 rainy days and sunset around 9 pm. The months with more sunshine make the queue outside easier, and nothing about the circuit changes with the season. For the most comfortable wait, I would pick an early-morning slot in spring or early autumn. Source: Open-Meteo historical weather.

Is Visiting Paris Worth It for the Catacombs Alone

I would not plan a Paris trip around one site, but it is a strong half-day. The Catacombs are one of the most distinctive things you can do in the city, and the circuit is short at about an hour. Check the Paris Catacombs opening hours first, then pair it with the Pantheon, which is about 28 minutes on foot by my estimate, or take the metro to the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre Museum.

What to Know Before You Go

Here is the official list of rules to read alongside the Paris Catacombs opening hours, before you pack.

• Bags: nothing larger than 40 by 30 by 20 centimetres, carried in front or in your hand. No suitcases or motorcycle helmets, no strollers (use a baby carrier), and no cloakroom.
• Steps: 131 down and 112 up, with a floor that is uneven and slippery, narrow passages and dim light.
• Temperature: 14 degrees Celsius and humid, so bring a layer and comfortable shoes.
• Behaviour: no touching the bones, no eating or drinking, no alcohol, no animals, no tripods and no flash.
• Age and health: children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult. The site is not wheelchair accessible and not recommended for visitors with claustrophobia or heart or breathing problems.
• Audio guide: included with a paid ticket in French, English, Spanish and German. Free tickets do not include it, and it costs 5 euros at the desk.

“Risk of falling: uneven and slippery floor. Narrow passageways. Dim light.”

All of this comes from the official visitor rules, and I would check them again before your date.

Which Ticket to Book

If the Paris Catacombs opening hours and the queue are your worry, a guided tour with a pre-booked slot is the least stressful. My pick of the three is the ExperienceFirst tour, which is the cheapest and the most reviewed.

ExperienceFirst

Paris Catacombs Skip-the-Line Guided Tour and Special Access

• ★ 4.8 (424 reviews)
• 1.5 hours

My pick: Pre-booked skip-the-line entry with a guide, $155, 4.8 from 424 reviews; note that it is non-refundable.

What you get, where you meet, what reviewers say

Included

• ✓ Skip-the-line entry ticket to the Paris Catacombs
• ✓ VIP access to areas not available to the general public
• ✓ English-speaking guide
• ✓ Optional upgrade for a narrated Seine River cruise, good for a year from the tour date

Not included / not suitable

• ✕ Gratuities

Meeting point: From Metro station Denfert Rochereau (line 4 or 6), use Exit 1 to reach the street level. You’ll see the Catacombs entrance, with glass doors and a sign, across the street, located to the right of the small green building that was the former entrance. Your guide will be waiting with an orange "ExperienceFirst" sign. 1 Avenue du Colonel Henri Rol-Tanguy, 75014 Paris, France

Languages: English

Duration: 1.5 hours

Cancellation: This activity is non-refundable

“Liz was such a awsome knowledgeable guide. 10/10 recommended” – GetYourGuide review

from

$155

Check availability

Since the Paris Catacombs opening hours are the same for every ticket type, the official 31 euro ticket is cheaper and perfectly good for the circuit itself. Whichever you choose, the full side-by-side is in my guide to every Paris Catacombs ticket I compared. To plan the rest of your trip, the ticketguide24 home page has the other Paris sights.