Jacob Epstein's Egyptian-themed angel was once smothered in hundreds of thousands of lipstick kisses; a glass barrier went up in 2011, but devotees pucker up anyway.
Despite the subject matter, it reads more like an English garden than a cemetery — a maze of leafy cobbled lanes that's a genuine refuge from the city.
The Communards' Wall marks where 147 Paris Commune fighters were shot in 1871 and fell into an open trench — a charged pilgrimage site for the French left.
“the Communards' Wall marks the deaths of 147 combatants of the Paris Commune who were forced to stand in front of the wall and were shot”
Chopin's white marble tomb, almost always heaped with fresh flowers, is quietly romantic — and a reminder his heart is buried separately in Poland.
For photos
Moss-furred Gothic mausoleums, tilting headstones and dappled light down the cobbled allées make this one of the most atmospheric shoots in Paris.
On a budget
Entry is free; grab the map at the gate or pay a few euros for a better one, and the whole afternoon costs nothing but a métro fare.
What people say
Straight from the reviews
“Père Lachaise feels more like an English garden than a cemetery, with its maze of tree-lined cobbled walkways providing tranquil respite from busy city life”