In “As Above, So Below,” a small group of students makes its way below the streets of France’s capital city into the Catacombs of Paris where the remains of 6 million people have been laid to rest. They are searching for something that has been missing from human history for the last several hundred years. However, the deeper they go, the more strange – and terrifying – things get as they start experiencing visions of their own pasts.
Those who have watched “The Poughkeepsie Tapes” or “Quarantine” should expect a similar film here as John Erick Dowdle directed and wrote all three of these found footage horror films.
The Catacombs came into existence in the late 1700s due to the health risks that the city’s existing cemeteries had started creating for its residents. The primary years that remains were moved to the Catacombs were 1786 to 1814, while the final transfer occurred in 1859. Some of the bones that were moved here are more than 1,000 years old.
This eerie attraction is home to 300 km of tunnels that reach as high as just 20 meters below the streets of Paris. The most accessible and interesting 2 km of tunnels are open for public exploration.
Although visitors have been making trips here since 1787, the Catacombs did not open on a near-daily basis until the 20th century. In 2002, it joined Paris Musées, an organization that manages 14 museums in the city. Today, this attraction is open every day except for Monday.
However, City Wonders provides visitors with an opportunity to skip the line every Thursday on the Paris Catacomb tour. This is especially useful now as this attraction is exceedingly popular due to "As Above, So Below" bringing it a significant amount of attention. In normal circumstances, wait times often reach two hours or more due to the fact that only 200 visitors are allowed inside at any one time.
Those who take advantage of this tour enjoy learning about the Catacombs, its history and legends, who was laid to rest here and why it is officially listed as a museum from City Wonders' expert guides.
