Paris Père Lachaise: Walking Tour with English-Speaking Guide

4.92

(144 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I’ll admit, I didn’t expect a cemetery to feel so alive. We met Max—he’s from Scotland but somehow fits right in here in Paris—just outside the gates of Père Lachaise. He greeted us with this warm “Alright?” and then led us straight into these winding green paths, where sunlight flickered through old trees and everything felt quieter than the city just beyond the walls. There was this faint smell of damp earth, mixed with flowers left by strangers for people they’d never met. I kept thinking: how does a place full of graves feel so full of stories?

Max had this way of making each stop feel personal, like he knew everyone buried there. He told us about Edith Piaf’s grave—there were fresh lipstick marks on the stone—and then Jim Morrison’s, which was already surrounded by a few fans humming “Riders on the Storm” under their breath. At Oscar Wilde’s tomb, Max paused to explain why it’s covered in glass now (too many kisses, apparently). I tried to say something in French about Wilde and totally butchered it; Max laughed and said even Parisians get tongue-tied here sometimes.

The tour lasted about two hours but honestly, time blurred a bit as we wandered past memorials to those who’d been wronged or forgotten. There was one spot where we all just stood quietly for a moment—no one needed to say anything. I remember brushing my hand along an old stone angel and feeling how cold it was, even though the sun was out. It’s strange how you can feel connected to people you’ve never met just by standing where they rest.