Père Lachaise Cemetery Tickets

Did you know that the Père Lachaise Cemetery wasn’t as popular when it first opened in 1804? While burying famous people there began as a strategy to attract others to choose this cemetery, now it's the final resting place for numerous popular figures from history, literature, music and art, including Jim Morrison, Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf and Frédéric Chopin!

As you walk around, you will learn that while the cemetery is the largest in Paris, housing more than 70,000 graves, it is also linked to momentous events in French history, including the Paris Commune of 1871, during which many rebels were executed at the Mur des Fédérés, a memorial wall within the cemetery.

A one-of-a-kind cemetery built like a park with its sprawling lush greenery and winding paths, Père Lachaise showcases an array of funerary art styles, including Gothic graves, Haussmannian burial chambers and ancient mausoleums– it’s a museum like no other.

At Père Lachaise, find Victor Noir’s resting place. A French journalist, he was killed in a political dispute and his grave features a life-sized bronze statue by Jules Dalou, depicting Noir as if he had just fallen. Interestingly, the sculpture features an unusual bulge in his trousers, which led to the local lore that touching this bulge or kissing the statue's lips is said to bring good fortune and fertility! This curious belief has turned Noir's grave into a hotspot for hopeful couples and superstitious tourists.

Calling all literary enthusiasts, Oscar Wilde, the brilliant playwright and poet, rests beneath a tombstone that's as unconventional as he was! Sculpted by Jacob Epstein, the tomb features an angel with large wings and a distinctly stylized head. But the fun part is that as a tribute to Wilde's enduring legacy, his fans leave a trail of lipstick kisses on the tombstone. Though now shielded by glass, the grave still draws crowds to cherish his works like The Picture of Dorian Gray *and *The Importance of Being Earnest.

The voice behind timeless classics like La Vie en Rose *and *Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, Édith Piaf's has one of the most decorated graves in the cemetery, as you can find it always decorated by her fans with fresh flowers, a gesture just as romantic as her voice. As Piaf rose from humble beginnings to become an international star, people from all over the world see it as a place of resilience, artistry, and dreams.

he is one of the most popular figures of Père Lachaise Cemetery, his grave is one of the simplest—just a tombstone bearing his name. But that doesn't stop his fans from paying him due respect, as people from all over the world leave flowers, messages, and various tributes to the rock star whose poetic lyrics and rebellious spirit became symbols of the 1960s counterculture!

If you are a romance lover, then the grave of Abélard and Héloïse, the medieval Romeo and Juliet, is what you must visit! Abélard, a philosopher and theologian, and Héloïse, his student, were lovers whose affair ended in a tragedy. With their resting place at a solemn spot in Père Lachaise where they were buried together, you can see how visitors leave notes and flowers at their grave, honoring their relationship, which has inspired countless literary works.

Chopin, a musical maestro of the Romantic age, was also put to his eternal sleep at the cemetery in a simple yet elegant tomb. What’s interesting is that while his body is buried here, his heart is actually in Poland, in accordance with his wishes, Chopin's heart was smuggled back to Poland in a jar of cognac by his sister, where it was eventually placed in a pillar at the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw. This act was both a romantic gesture towards his homeland and a fulfillment of his fear of being buried alive—known as taphephobia.

While not as famous as some of her neighbors, Baroness Stroganova brings a touch of Russian intrigue to the cemetery, with her elaborate tombstone spelling her noble lineage. Playing right into the spooky myths of cemeteries, her grave has been a center for tales of vampires and other supernatural beings linked to the Stroganov family. Whether these legends are true or not, her final resting place draws those curious about the cemetery's darker side.

Tignous, the satirical cartoonist behind Charlie Hebdo's biting humor, rests in a grave that's become a shrine for free speech. His tomb, a reminder of the 2015 attack that silenced his voice, is filled with pens, sketches, and tributes from those who honor his courage and the power of satire to challenge the status quo. His legacy fuels conversations about art, politics, and the critical role of humor in a world that often takes itself too seriously.