The best time to visit the Paris Catacombs, slot by slot
Only about 200 people fit inside the Catacombs at once, so the line outside can be slow. A timed slot and the right hour make most of that wait disappear. Here we cover which days and times stay calm, and how far ahead to book.
Why the line forms
Only about 200 visitors are allowed inside the Catacombs at once. When the galleries are full, the next person waits until someone comes out at the exit, a short walk away in another street.
Without a timed ticket, the line outside the entrance on Place Denfert-Rochereau can stretch for an hour or more on busy days. Every option on this site includes timed or fast-track entry, so you skip the worst of it.
Quiet slots and busy days
- Calmest are the first slots of the morning
- Weekdays outside the school holidays stay quieter
- Weekends fill up, as Parisians come down too
- The summer months bring the longest lines
- The days around Halloween draw extra crowds
Early slots feel calmer underground as well as in the line. The galleries are narrow, and with fewer people around you hear the guide better and take photos without strangers in the frame.
The Catacombs are usually closed on Mondays. Opening hours change through the year, so check the official site for your date before you plan around a slot.
Afternoon groups of six with Walks
Walks' special access tour from ~$155 runs groups of up to 14 for most departures. On Viator, the 1:30, 4:30 and 5:30 pm departures are listed as groups of six, the same cap as the priciest tour here.
That makes those afternoon slots the cheapest small group on this site. Its score is a little below the other two guided tours, at 4.7 on both sites (1,000+ reviews on GetYourGuide, 970+ on Viator).
A small afternoon group at the lowest guided price
Walks pairs skip-the-line entry with a local English-speaking guide for 2 hours. Choose an afternoon slot on Viator for a group of six.
How far ahead to book
Timed tickets sell out, and you cannot buy one on the spot. For summer weekends and the days around Halloween, book as soon as your plans allow.
On GetYourGuide, free cancellation up to 24 hours before is the norm, so booking early costs you little flexibility. Small-group tours have only six or seven places per departure, so they can fill before the self-guided slots do.
If your first date is gone, look at the days either side or another hour on the same day. Our price guide compares the four options before you commit.
Morning or afternoon on a guided tour
A guided tour already skips the line, so its start time matters less for the queue. It matters more for the crowd below, since your group shares the main route with ticket holders.
The restricted areas stay quiet at any hour, because only tour groups go through those gates. Our guide to the locked gates explains what you see there.
LivTours keeps groups to six at every departure, and Memories France to seven or fewer. Our group size guide compares all three tours side by side.
Which tour suits which hour
For an early start, our pick suits people who want a calm group of seven or fewer. Memories France from ~$211 runs 2 hours and rates 4.9 on both booking sites.
For a short visit that still fits a full sightseeing day, LivTours from ~$237 takes about 1.5 hours with six people at most. It costs the most of the guided three.
For the lowest price, the self-guided ticket from ~$42 still gives you a timed slot. Pick the first hour of the morning and you meet the smallest crowd on the standard route.
School holidays and Halloween
French school holidays bring families and school-age visitors in large numbers. Slots in those weeks go first, especially the late morning ones that suit children.
Halloween puts the Catacombs at the top of many lists, and the days around it fill up fast. If your trip falls then, book the moment your dates are fixed and take an early slot.
Outside those peaks, a weekday morning in the cooler months is usually the calmest visit you can get. Lines shrink and the galleries feel more spacious.
If you cannot make an early start, look at the late afternoon instead. Walks runs its groups of six at 4:30 and 5:30 pm, so even a busy day can end with a small group below the street.
The season above ground and below
Underground it stays about 14 °C (57 °F) all year, so the season changes nothing below the street. In summer the cool air is a relief, and in winter it feels mild after the cold outside.
Rain matters more in the line than in the galleries. A timed slot spares you a long wait on an open square in bad weather, and our packing guide covers the jacket and shoes.
Fitting the visit into your day
Guided tours last about 1.5–2 hours and the ticket about an hour. Add time to get to Denfert-Rochereau by metro or RER B, and a few minutes to find the entrance on the square.
The exit is in another street, a short walk from where you went in. Our route guide follows the visit from the 130 steps down to the climb back up.
If you visit with children, a morning slot usually suits them better than a late one. Our family guide covers the age limit and the stairs.