Arras Tunnels of Arras Mezzaneine recommends this site: "if you ever get a chance to go to Northern France, there's this town called Arras that has all these 10th Century tunnels under it that we toured. They were originally used for sacrificial rites and stuff (OOOHHH!!!) and were used to hide troops during the wars and the revolution."
Paris Denfert-Rochereau Ossuary Also known as the "Catacombs": "Far below the city streets of Paris, in the quiet, damp darkness, seven million Parisians lie motionless. Their skeletons, long since dis-interred from the churchyard graves their survivors left them in, are neatly stacked and aligned to form the walls of nearly one kilometer of walking passage."
Notre Dame Cathedral The gargoyles of Notre Dame are, of course, something special to see! Not that I've seen them, of course, since I'm quite a homebody, but I've heard it on good faith that it's "worth the hike up the tower" to see them. And besides that - maybe you'll run into the Hunchback, and you know that can't be bad! If you don't believe me, believe Merrie: "One of the most beautiful gothic cathedrals around. Gargoyles garlore! The setting for Victor Hugo's 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'." (Special thanks to Nancy for the suggestion.)
The Louvre Palace and Museum Yeah, yeah, yeah - I know what you're thinking. "What's so morbid about an art museum?" Well, besides the fact that you can tour the underground moats from the days when the palace was a medieval fortress, art can be pretty damned morbid. And the Louvre houses some great ones like the must-see The Raft of the Medusa as well as a huge assortment of deathbed images and mutilated Jesus'. (Special thanks to Merrie for the suggestion.)
Musée Fragonard Honoré Fragonard (1732 - 1799) was an expert in the art of anatomic preparations. His elaborately posed preparations were the forefathers of Gunther von Hagens' "Body Worlds". At the Musée Fragonard, you can see all of his surviving work including some creepy looking "Human Fetuses Dancing a Jig". I am mesmerized.
Museum of Anatomy This is a "by-appointment-only" museum which sounds absolutely delightful: "The collection is also of interest to historians of criminology, since the only bodies available to doctors in the 18th century were those of vagrants and criminals. Among the notorious people included in the collection is the skull of Joseph Fieschi, who killed 18 people but missed his target during an attempt to assassinate King Louis-Philippe in 1835; and the remains of Pierre-François Lacenaire, a well-known dandy who became part of French folklore in 1832 when he murdered a bank clerk in Paris. The exhibits have been preserved by the use of wax masks, mercury and other chemicals. Some of the faces are serene in death while others express the horror of their execution. The skin of one unknown criminal was peeled off the face and dried; it remains intact almost 200 years later."
Palais Garnier
(Paris Opera House)
Baelish explains why this building is a must-see for the morbidly-minded.
Pere Lachaise Cemetery The famous Parisian cemetery, chock full of literary luminaries such as Oscar Wilde, Moliere, and, er, Jim Morrison. Also of morbid note, in the eastern corner of the cemetery is the Mur des Fédérés, against which 147 Communards were shot at dawn on 28 May 1871, after their final resistance among the graves the night before. They were buried where they fell against the wall. The official website has a FANTASTIC virtual tour, which is the next best thing to being there. (Special thanks to Merrie for the suggestion.)
Pont de L'Alma The infamous Parisian street/tunnel where Princess Diana met her untimely demise. Special thanks to Merrie for the suggestion.
Sewer Tour Yes, you too can view the magnificent sewers of Paris! Do you suppose I'm sick because I really, really want to go on this tour?




Wicked Words...