Beneath the dazzling lights of modern Paris lie the devilishly dark Catacombs, which in this Exclusive Tour you will be able to descend into and explore in your very own Group of ONLY 6 people MAX, and of course skipping the ticket lines. Sometimes called the “Empire of Death,” this marvelously macabre 200-mile maze houses the painstakingly arranged remains of roughly 6 million Parisians. On this Paris Catacombs Tour, you will get to see all the glorious and ghoulish sites without waiting for hours in line. As an added bonus, your Tour will include VIP access to rarely seen restricted chambers. Your Paris Catacombs Tour begins with a bone-chilling descent on the complex’s 133-step staircase. Your guide will explain how these tunnels were used in the 13th century to quarry limestone for buildings as grand as Notre Dame. As you make your way through these narrow tunnels, you will learn why bad weather in the 1780s forced Parisians to bury their dead here. During your tour, you will have plenty of time to admire the Catacombs’ disturbingly detailed bone decorations. From religious iconography to hearts, workers found many ways to “beautify” the bones housed in this complex. There is, however, one decoration that will really set your spine a-tingling. Inside the popular Crypt of the Passion take a few moments to admire “The Barrel,” which is constructed out of various skeletal remains. In addition to housing the dead, the Catacombs played an important role in many significant historic events. Your guide will tell you tales of the German Wehrmacht and the French Resistance who both used part of the Catacombs as wartime bunkers during World War II.