Paris · 20th arrondissement · Free
Père Lachaise Cemetery: Paris's City of the Dead
Forty-four hectares of cobbled avenues, stone chapels and the graves of Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Édith Piaf and Chopin — Père Lachaise is the most visited cemetery in the world, and it costs nothing to enter.
By the AllTrips Editorial Team ·
Père Lachaise at a glance
Area: 20th arrondissement, east Paris; main entrance on Boulevard de Ménilmontant. Allow: 1.5–2.5 hours. Entry: free, open daily. Nearby: Belleville, the Atelier des Lumières and the Canal Saint-Martin to the north-west.
Opened in 1804, Père Lachaise is the largest cemetery in Paris proper: 44 hectares, around 70,000 plots and over a million burials. It is still a working cemetery — funerals take place daily — and also one of the city's great green spaces, with more than 5,000 trees and hills that give unexpected views back towards central Paris.
A cemetery Parisians had to be persuaded to use
When Napoleon ordered new cemeteries built outside the city limits, the site — a former Jesuit retreat named after Louis XIV's confessor, Père François de la Chaise — was considered too far away and too unfashionable. In its first years almost nobody wanted to be buried there. The administrators' solution was pure marketing: in 1817 they transferred the remains of Molière, La Fontaine and the medieval lovers Héloïse and Abélard to the cemetery, and Parisians suddenly decided it was exactly where they wanted to spend eternity. Within a few years burials went from a few dozen to tens of thousands.
The cemetery also carries darker history. In May 1871, the last fighters of the Paris Commune were cornered here and 147 of them were shot against what is now called the Mur des Fédérés (Communards' Wall) in the south-east corner — still a place of pilgrimage for the French left.
The famous graves
Part of the appeal is simply wandering, but most visitors come with a list. The names below are the most sought-after; the cemetery is divided into 97 numbered divisions, and a plan (posted at the entrances, or downloadable from the City of Paris) is essential:
- Oscar Wilde (division 89) — a striking modernist monument by Jacob Epstein. For decades admirers covered it in lipstick kisses; since 2011 a glass barrier protects the cleaned stone, and visitors now leave messages on the glass instead.
- Jim Morrison (division 6) — the Doors singer's modest grave is one of the most visited in the world, watched over to protect the surrounding tombs from crowds.
- Édith Piaf (division 97) — the Little Sparrow's family grave, usually decorated with fresh flowers.
- Frédéric Chopin (division 11) — his heart is in Warsaw, but the rest of him rests here under a weeping-muse monument.
- Molière and La Fontaine (divisions 25 and 26) — the two graves that made the cemetery fashionable in 1817.
- Marcel Proust, Honoré de Balzac, Gertrude Stein, Colette, Sarah Bernhardt, Georges Bizet and Amedeo Modigliani — a fraction of the writers, composers and artists scattered across the lanes.
Planning your visit
Entry is free and the cemetery opens every day of the year, generally from 8:00 (9:00 on Sundays and holidays), closing between 17:30 and 18:00 depending on the season — check the official page for current hours. A few practical points:
- Get a plan. Free maps are posted at the main entrances and available on the City of Paris website. Without one, finding a specific grave among 70,000 plots is pure luck.
- Wear proper shoes. The avenues are cobbled and the cemetery is genuinely hilly; some older lanes are uneven.
- Be respectful. This is an active cemetery. Keep noise down near funerals, and don't sit or climb on tombs.
- Start at the top or the bottom. Entering at the Gambetta side (Porte du Repos) lets you walk mostly downhill towards the main Boulevard de Ménilmontant exit.
Guided tours
You can explore perfectly well on your own, but a guided walk adds the stories behind the stones — and saves you from hunting for graves. The affiliate link below supports AllTrips at no extra cost to you.
Book a Père Lachaise tour
Guided walks and tours covering the famous graves and the cemetery's history.
Check Père Lachaise tours on TiqetsGetting there
The main entrance is on Boulevard de Ménilmontant, a short walk from Père Lachaise station (metro lines 2 and 3). For a downhill visit, start instead at Gambetta (line 3) by the Porte du Repos entrance near the Mur des Fédérés, then walk down. Buses 61 and 69 also stop near the main gate.
Père Lachaise in photos
What is nearby?
Père Lachaise sits in east Paris, an area most visitors skip — which is a mistake. The hilltop Parc de Belleville has one of the best free views of the city, the Atelier des Lumières runs immersive art shows a short walk west, and the Canal Saint-Martin is about 25 minutes away on foot. See how it all fits together on our Paris attractions map.
Frequently asked questions
Is Père Lachaise Cemetery free to visit?
Yes. Entry to the cemetery is free and no ticket is needed. It is a working municipal cemetery run by the City of Paris, open daily with seasonal closing times. Paid guided tours are optional.
Where is Oscar Wilde's grave in Père Lachaise?
Oscar Wilde's tomb is in division 89, in the south-east of the cemetery. The modernist monument by Jacob Epstein was famously covered in lipstick kisses by admirers; a glass barrier now protects the stone, and visitors leave messages on it instead.
How long does it take to visit Père Lachaise?
Allow 1.5 to 2.5 hours. The cemetery covers 44 hectares with around 70,000 plots, and its cobbled avenues are hilly. If you want to find specific graves, pick up or download a plan before you start — the lanes are easy to get lost in.
Who else is buried at Père Lachaise?
Among the best-known graves are Jim Morrison of The Doors, Édith Piaf, Frédéric Chopin, Molière, La Fontaine, Honoré de Balzac, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Colette, Sarah Bernhardt and the star-crossed medieval lovers Héloïse and Abélard.
What are the opening hours of Père Lachaise?
The cemetery opens daily, typically from 8:00 (9:00 on Sundays and public holidays), with closing between 17:30 and 18:00 depending on the season. Hours change through the year, so check the City of Paris page before visiting.
Official sources
Reviewed September 2026. Opening hours change seasonally; check the official page before visiting.