Montmartre Cemetery is home to 20,000 burial plots along with some of the most notable tombs in Paris, including painter Edgar Degas, novelist Émile Zola, and symbolist artist Gustave Moreau. However, many French visitors skip the 19th-century celebrities and head straight to singer Dalida’s grave to leave flowers for the pop icon. The distinct ambiance of the cemetery's former gypsum quarry origins is enhanced by the presence of around 50 feral felines that call this graveyard home.

Sixty-five feet (20 meters) beneath the streets of the 14th arrondissement lay the anonymous remains of some 6 million Parisians. The Paris Catacombs were created in the late 18th century to solve the city's overflowing cemeteries and public health concerns. So, under the cover of night, bodies were exhumed from local graveyards and transferred to the underground tunnels, which eventually became an ossuary. Today, you can witness a mile (1.6 kilometers) of of skulls, femurs, and ulnas.

While Montparnasse Cemetery is Paris’ second-largest necropolis—comprising 47 sprawling acres (19 hectares)—tourists often overlook it in favor of Père Lachaise Cemetery. However, this tree-lined graveyard offers beautiful tombs and graves of famous French intellectuals, including Charles Baudelaire, Simone de Beauvoir, and Jean-Paul Sartre. It’s an ideal destination for tranquil cemetery sightseeing in Paris.

Père Lachaise Cemetery is not only France’s largest graveyard, it's also one of Paris’ top attractions. Spanning 45 acres (18 hectares), it’s dotted with nearly 70,000 decorative tombs, some housing world-famous writers, singers, and artists. Make a beeline for Oscar Wilde’s kiss-covered tomb, Edith Piaf’s flower-adorned grave, and Jim Morrison’s tombstone, where rock fans leave letters, notes, and tokens. Take a deeper dive into its history and lesser-known landmarks on a guided walking tour.

Take a bus to the Paris suburb Asnières-sur-Seine and you’ll find what experts consider the modern world’s first zoological graveyard. The Cemetery of the Dogs and Other Pets is a must-visit for animal lovers. But be warned: you may shed a tear or two witnessing the undying devotion of humans to their pets. You’ll find a few canine celebrities, including Hollywood star Rin Tin Tin and Barry the St. Bernard (a Swiss rescue dog), among the statues and tombs of people's furry and feathered friends.

As the highest point on Paris’ eastern side, Belleville Cemetery is where 18th-century French engineer Claude Chappe tested his optical telegraph. Among the 3,200 graves you’ll find the final resting place of a few notable Parisians, like inventor Léon Gaumont. Aside from these noteworthy occupants, this cemetery reflects centuries of the longstanding Belleville community, including its working-class spirit, via the lives of soldiers, French revolutionaries, and locals alike.

While you won’t find the 12th Arrondissement’s Picpus Cemetery on many tourist maps, this necropolis is one of the most historic cemeteries in Paris. During the Reign of Terror (1793), the city witnessed mass government-sanctioned executions of thousands of alleged counter-revolutionary suspects. Picpus Cemetery served as a dumping ground for around 13,000 of those who died by guillotine. After the Revolution it became a private cemetery and memorials were erected to honor the dead.

While the Passy Cemetery is smaller than most, it’s one of the city’s prettiest. Located in the ultra-wealthy Trocadero neighborhood, it's the final resting place for Paris’ most affluent families. Here, you’ll find tombs of influential 19th-century French creatives, including impressionist painters Berthe Morisot and Edouard Manet and composer Claude Debussy. Easily within walking distance of the Champ de Mars (Mars’ Field) and Eiffel Tower, it’s a nice stop if you seek a bit of serenity.

Though it houses 15,000 inhabitants, Batignolles Cemetery gets few visitors. This 19th-century graveyard is well worth a visit if you venture to the hip, multicultural Épinettes neighborhood. A section of the busy Périphérique Boulevard passes over part of the cemetery, creating an eerie juxtaposition to the gravesites. Among its 27 acres (11 hectares), you’ll find the tombs of surrealist André Breton, magician Clémentine de Vère, avant-garde painter Édouard Vuillard, and more.