Free, open every day, and the biggest park in eastern Paris happens to hold Chopin, Wilde and Jim Morrison. Here is the route.
The short version
- Free, every day of the year including holidays. From mid-March to early November it opens at 8:00 on weekdays, 8:30 on Saturday and 9:00 on Sunday, and closes at 18:00, with the paths cleared from 17:45. The winter hours are shorter and posted at paris.fr.
- Three gates matter: the main gate on boulevard de Ménilmontant by the Père Lachaise metro, the Gambetta gate at the top of the hill by the Gambetta metro, and the small Réunion gate on the east side, steps only.
- Go in at Gambetta and walk down. The hill is steep and the famous graves are mostly on the way down from the top.
- Download the map from paris.fr before you go or screenshot the plan at the gate. The cemetery is 44 hectares and the divisions are numbered; without a map you will find Jim Morrison and nothing else.
- No dogs, no bikes, no picnics, no jogging. It is a working cemetery with funerals most days; step aside for a procession.
- Two hours covers the route below. Wear shoes for cobbles and dirt paths, and go in the morning when the light is low through the trees.
The walk
From the Gambetta gate, the crematorium and the columbarium are on your left; Isadora Duncan and Maria Callas are in the columbarium walls. Walk down avenue des Combattants to the Mur des Fédérés in the southeast corner, where the last fighters of the 1871 Commune were shot against the wall, and the memorials to the deportees of the Second World War stand along the path beside it.
Climb back toward the center for Oscar Wilde in division 89, the winged sphinx by Jacob Epstein behind its glass screen, then Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas nearby in 94. Head downhill through the old divisions to Chopin in 11, always covered in flowers, and Jim Morrison in 6, fenced and guarded and still the most visited grave in the place.
Finish on the lower slopes by the main gate: Héloïse and Abélard in division 7, under restoration until August 2027, Rossini’s former tomb and the Rothschild vaults along the main avenue, and Colette and Balzac if you have the legs for one more climb.
Or let a guide find them for you: our private Paris walking tour is eight hours with a local guide and the route is built around your list; Père Lachaise in the morning and the Marais after lunch is a good day.
Who is here
The cemetery opened in 1804 on a hill outside the city, and nobody wanted to be buried so far out until the city moved Molière, La Fontaine and then Héloïse and Abélard here in 1817 to make it fashionable. It worked. Seventy thousand plots now, and more than three million visitors a year.
The musicians are Chopin, Bizet, Poulenc, Callas, Morrison and Édith Piaf, who is in division 97 near the top. The writers are Balzac, Proust, Wilde, Stein, Colette, Apollinaire and Perec. The painters are Delacroix, Pissarro, Modigliani, Seurat and Corot.
The 20th century is at the top of the hill: the Commune wall, the deportation memorials with their twisted bronze figures, and the graves of the Resistance. Give that corner twenty quiet minutes; it is the part of the cemetery that is not a tourist walk.
When to go
A weekday morning at opening. The light comes through the chestnuts, the paths are empty, and the guard at Morrison’s grave is still friendly. Weekend afternoons from May to September are the crowded hours, and most of the crowd is on the same three graves.
Autumn is the season: the trees turn in October and the cemetery is at its best in the two weeks before All Saints’ Day on November 1, when families come with chrysanthemums and the gates are open to all but cars.
Winter closes earlier, so check the day’s closing time at the gate. Rain makes the cobbles slick and the dirt paths mud; it is still open, and still worth it with the right shoes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Père Lachaise free?
Yes. Free entry every day of the year, no ticket and no reservation. The only things that cost money are the guided walks run by outside companies and the map if you buy a printed one at a shop outside.
Where is Jim Morrison’s grave?
Division 6, on the lower slopes not far inside the main gate on boulevard de Ménilmontant. Follow the crowd; it is fenced off and there is usually a guard. Chopin is five minutes away in division 11.
Which gate should I use?
Gambetta, at the top, if you want to walk downhill past the famous graves and come out at the main gate by the metro. The main gate on boulevard de Ménilmontant if you only want Morrison, Chopin and the old divisions. The Réunion gate has steps and closes for stretches of the year.
How long does Père Lachaise take?
Two hours for the route on this page with a map. An hour if you only want Morrison, Chopin and Wilde. A whole morning if you like cemeteries; it is 44 hectares and the lanes go on.
Is there a tour that includes Père Lachaise?
Our half-day Paris walking tour is about three hours with a private guide, start times from 9:00 to 18:00, and the route is yours to set; ask for Père Lachaise and the guide builds the morning around the graves you want and the ones you’d never find.
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