Paris discoveries: the Père Lachaise cemetery

Morbidity aside, a trip to Paris wouldn’t be complete without visiting the Père Lachaise cemetery where many world-

Pere Lachaise cemetery

famous people are buried. This is especially true if you enjoy French history and culture, since wandering amid the tombstones is a walk down history lane. You’ll even be given a map!

Buried here you’ll find quite an eclectic group of folks.

Actresses Simone Signoret and Sarah Bernhardt are here and actor-singer Yves Montand. So are Oscar Wilde, the British satirist, and Gertrude Stein, the American writer recently depicted in the film Midnight in Paris. You’ll find the graves of Romantic poets Alfred de Musset and Gérard de Nerval and those of Surrealists poets Guillaume Apollinaire and Paul Éluard. Other literary figures you’ll come across are Jean de la Fontaine, the well-known author of Les fables, and also

Pere Lachaise Chopin’s grave

Molière, Balzac, Proust and Colette. Victor Hugo is buried at the Panthéon but his father is buried here. Frédéric Chopin and Francis Poulenc are among the musicians at Père Lachaise, along with Edith Piaf. Many of the great French painters are buried here too, including Neo-classical painters David and Ingres, Romantic painters Théodore Géricault and Eugène Delacroix, as well as Gustave Caillebotte, who was one of the lesser-known Impressionists. You’ll even find Fulgance Bienvenüe, the father of theParis métro, and Ferdinand de Lesseps, the creator of theSuez canal. Talk about a history lesson!

Last but certainly not least, the Doors’ Jim Morrison, who died in Pari sin 1971, lies buried at the Père Lachaise and is still surrounded by his adoring fans.

Come, pay your respects, and may all these luminaries rest in peace.

If you’d like to know more, visit the Père Lachaise homepage.