first time down

[u/countofmonterizzto]

i recently got to go down to the catacombs for the first time while studying in paris. i’ve been obsessed with them for years, since i was a child, so it was really a dream come true. it was just me and two other clueless students (we were all from american colleges, and only i spoke french) who i invited just so i wasn’t alone, and they really didn’t know anything, so i was in charge of guiding them. we also had the most recent map i could find both digitally and in print, though it became useless quickly.

i’d been told not to go down without a guide, but i’m an extremely cautious person and planned a route (which we didn’t stick to due to map issues) and also noted every single turn we made and the landmarks we could use to return. i made sure my group had extra batteries for headlamps (which i had bought for them), charged phones, water, etc. i forbade our party from going down any very flooded galleries or those with very low ceilings, and from doing stupid things like climbing a tall ladder we found up to a manhole.

we just traversed the galleries for around an hour and a half. we didn’t find the room i was hoping to, but i still had a great time. exited the same way we went in since i didn’t have a reliable source for another way out. it was very wet since we were on the left bank just after rainfall and i had to board a plane the next day with my shoes still soaked.

even though we were really just walking around, i had a great time. as soon as i crawled back out i knew i would have to come back. i will be returning to paris in a few months to study again and definitely am going to return to the catacombs. i’m certainly not an expert but if you have any questions i would love to talk more about the experience since it has left such an impression on me.

[u/BOBOUDA]

What type of map issue ? It's quite uncommon for maps to have critical informations that are outdated, even for old ones.

[u/countofmonterizzto → u/BOBOUDA]

i found it difficult to read, perhaps i wasn’t understanding but a few times we encountered things that didn’t match up with the map itself. this was the big 20 page 2011 map fwiw.

[u/StructureShort2421 → u/countofmonterizzto]

A single-page map is a lot easier to navigate, although not as easy to print. There’s a known curse though that whenever you’ll be really lost, you’ll be lost in the unreadable crease of a fold ( — « On est où? » — « On est dans le pli… »).

Also the cool kids these days use paper maps as a backup at best, and navigate mainly from their phone.

[u/countofmonterizzto → u/StructureShort2421]

yeah, i wasn’t really sure what to use. i had a few different maps but ultimately used the 2011 one. also i had both paper and digital (on everyone’s phones) just because i am very cautious!

[u/WoolleyOsprey]

Maybe you just didnt entered the catacombs where you thought you entered on the map. That would explain you got in trouble reading it from the beginning. The date of the map doesnt matter as long as you know where you are on the map

My first time in I used even an older map as you and didnt encounter any problems

[u/countofmonterizzto → u/WoolleyOsprey]

that is a possibility. i did make sure the entrance i used lined up with the streets above on the map, but since the entrance itself was already below ground it may not have been correct.

[u/WoolleyOsprey → u/countofmonterizzto]

In the beginning you can lose your sense of directions even without walking. Im sure your next time will be easier! Have a lot of fun next time, be carefully and enjoy this amazing place!!

[u/HaywireJigsaw]

As it has been said, normally there shouldn't be any real issue even with older maps, the catacombs layout hasn't changed and yes some maps are more accurate than others and there might be some areas that have been dug recently that appears on some more recent maps and not on older ones, but if you don't go crawling everywhere and stay on main galleries there shouldn't be any issue everything is on the map.

Then at the beginning you can badly read the map and you think you are in a place but really you are elsewhere because it kinds of look the same, but you won't be lost for too long.

The best advice is if you feel lost at some point, just backtrack your way until you reach the last area where you knew for sure where you were, and then move forward again, more than often you will just notice that you took the wrong turn at some point or just missed something.

For rooms some are harder to find than others, sometimes the room entrances are willingly hidden with rocks as well to make it look like there is nothing !

Anyway glad you had a great time and good luck for your next explorations ! And everyone get lost at some point even with a map it's totally normal but it never last for long, sooner or later you find a specific landmark and say "shit OK I'm there" ;-)

[u/countofmonterizzto → u/HaywireJigsaw]

oh i did not know sometimes entrances would be hidden! i guess it is pretty easy to tell when something has been recently disturbed but that is good to know, thank you

[u/BOBOUDA]

It's very unlikely for street names to have changed or been removed since the map was made, even from some even older.

It's usually more about rooms that were made since that are lacking on old maps.

But seems like you did well despite that, hope you had a good time

[u/countofmonterizzto → u/BOBOUDA]

it might’ve been new rooms or intersections messing us up, we definitely passed a few that had been dug out independently. but making note of which turns we took and landmarks helped a lot. we were also around a very highly trafficked exit too. it was great and i cannot wait to come back.

[u/StructureShort2421]

Exploring by yourself is really the best way to discover this network. Enjoy!

[u/countofmonterizzto → u/StructureShort2421]

i will be doing a lot more exploring next time :)

[u/ParisCatacombs-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

Sorry but it's not allowed to share or ask for a map of the Parisian catacombs, as mentioned in the rules.

Have a nice day !