Some visitors have been fugitives, many have simply sought a place to create undisturbed. Their subject matter is varied and often subversive, it ranges from current events and politics to the poetic and downright strange; but whatever the subject, the underground art records history with originality, creativity and style. New material is continually being added, it is rare anything is removed, and after 300 years a riot of imagery and objects have amassed, making a startling and unique environment.

Paris has huge subterranean cavities, built in 2000 years of history for many purposes like quarries, religious hideout, beer cellars, subways and bunkers. Most of the excavations are located at the base of the three “mountains” – Montparnasse, Montrouge and Montsouris. There are approximately 300km of galleries all together, not all of them are connected.

Cataphiles have been illicitly producing art in the underground since the early 1980s and their paintings are found over a large area of the quarry network. It is an atmosphere that has encouraged many artists to look inwards rather than outwards to produce meditative, contemplative and decidedly personal impressions of subjects that are always extraordinary and frequently bizarre – monsters and beasts, phantoms and ghouls are favorites; futuristic topics recur; and politics, religion and sex inevitably find wall space. The dimensions of the kata-art ranges from small mosaics that is no more than ten centimeters in diameter, to large ceramics of two meters high, or huge paintings that are in excess of twenty meters wide.

The Catacombs has many dates on the walls to indicate work done to consolidate the existing quarries, an enormous project to catalogue the location of the many unknown parts of the quarries and shore up their ceilings to allow Paris to grow. It was these efforts that were responsible for linking the entire tunnel system together.

The name catacombs are derived from the usage as graves. This name is sometimes used for all the underground caverns of Paris, but the tourist spot, open to the public, are the graves. They do not really promote them to tourists, but they are open to the public. At the end of the 18th century, the government began converting several subterranean rooms into mass graves. This was necessary to meet desperate overcrowding in the medieval cemeteries in the center of Paris, which also became a hygienic problem. From 1785 to 1786, in 15 months, millions of bones and rotting corpses were transported from the unsanitary city cemetery in Les Halles to this place. It was a colossal project to transport the bones in huge carts at night across the city.

And here they are, in huge piles, arranged as crosses, as faces and in other different configurations. Above the door outside are the words – in French – Stop! This is the empire of death.

Even before thinking of a place to stay in Paris, many begin to picture images of the Eiffel Tower. Many children from other European cities have heard of the Eiffel Tower without even visiting France. However, upon hearing the word ‘tower’ to many the Eiffel Tower, or Tour Eiffel, is a familiar expression and seems to fit together perfectly.

The Eiffel Tower, after taking two years to be built, was constructed in 1889 as a commemoration of the centenary of the French Revolution. The mastermind behind this great structure is Gustave Eiffel. At the time of the exhibition in 1889, there was a great deal of objection among artists within France to the mere thought that the Tower would remain. There were also those who feared that the style of the Tower would not fit in with the rest of the Parisian architecture. However, today one can hardly think of the possibility of Paris without the Eiffel Tower.

The stairs inside the Tower reach as far as the second floor. Visitors may also take advantage of elevators to the first and second floors. A separate elevator is available to the top floor which offers an incredible view of the city of Paris. Shops offering souvenirs are available on the various levels. Kiosks are also featured in addition to restaurants at which it is advisable to make advance reservations. It should be noted that due to the popularity of the site, there are often many people waiting for the elevators especially to reach the top level. As a generalization, it would probably best to visit the Tower in the morning hours, in the hope that there will perhaps be fewer travelers at the time of your visit.

There is of course a good choice of accommodation options in the area. As is the case, when reserving a hotel room in most cities, prices will vary according to location. You pay for convenience. Therefore, hotels that are situated right in the city centre will generally cost more than a hotel of a similar standard that is located on the outskirts of the city.

People involved with the operation of the Eiffel Tower are proud to note that, since its construction, over 200 million visitors have visited the site. For those who like figures, it may be interesting to note the following details. The tower was constructed out of 12,000 iron pieces and 7 million nails. The weight of the metal structure is 7300 tons and the total weight is 10,000 tons. There were 18,038 pieces used in the construction and 2,500,000 rivets. The Tower contains 1665 steps and luckily for some, there are also elevators. It is reported that it took a period of 2 years, 2 months and 5 days to complete the construction of the Eiffel Tower.

Tourist items such as puzzles and ornaments featuring the Eiffel Tower are very popular items of merchandise. However, there is nothing quite like seeing the real thing.