I appreciate that it's an odd choice of excursion for tourists, but the Pere Lachaise cemetery in the 20th arrondissement is the largest cemetery in the city of Paris. When it first opened, it was unpopular as Roman Catholics refused to be buried in a place that hadn't been blessed by the church, and it was located too far from the city centre. However, a marketing strategy (which included having Moliere and Jean de la Fontaine's remains moved there) soon made it a popular place to be buried. Today, there are over 1 million people buried there.
This is the grave of Oscar Wilde, the playwright and poet who died destitute in Paris in 1900 of meningitis. The modernist angel has been repeatedly vandalised, and so now there's glass to stop people getting near it. There are still lipstick marks on one side though, where people have kissed the tomb.
It's an interesting wander round - other notable people buried there include Edith Piaf, Heloise and Abelard, Bordieu, and Jim Morrison. - Lucy
@zenna Glad you like it Gayanne. Yes it is sad. Jim Morrison's grave was apparently becoming a bit too much of a shrine so they've moved a massive tomb in front of it to limit the space people have to vandalise the area around it. It's sad really - Lucy
@dolphin It's a great place to visit if you get chance. It's a little bit creepy because there's just so many graves and tombs, but there are other monuments too, particularly to the soldiers of wars gone by and there are several to commemorate the holocaust - Lucy
