Tuesday, November 01, 2005

All Saints' day in Pere Lachaise


We do not have Halloween as such in France but on November 1st we celebrate a Catholic feast called All Saint's day. This feast is a holiday and traditionally people take advantage of it to visit a relative or a parent in the cemetery where they are buried. I thought it was a good occasion to show you more of the Pere Lachaise Cemetery, a huge cemetery inside Paris where anonymous and famous people rest in peace. I already showed Oscar Wilde tomb here but today I invite you to discover a lot of other masterpieces.

10 comments:

  1. Hi Eric,

    A great way to visit the cemetary through your blog. I'm sure somebody will, if they haven't already, invent a business case for a virtual cemetary where you can buy a tomb, purchase flowers, and make a virtual tour. Until then, I'd prefer to see it through your eyes.

    Thanks for your virtual tour!

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  2. Excellent idea Michael. Something like that?

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  3. I love the Père Lachaise cemetary, although I am not quite as obsessed with it as some of my friends are. This past summer, I visited:
    - The Père Lachaise cemetary
    - The Montparnasse cemetary (my favorite, because Joris-Karl Huysmans and Baudelaire are buried there)
    and
    - The Montmartre cemetary.

    All are pretty cool, but Père Lachaise has got to be the largest, and the site where most "celebrities" are buried.

    Enjoy your day off!

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  4. How about dying virtually?

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  5. I spent most of my time touring & photographing the Paris Cemeteries when I was there last. I fell in love with cemeteries as a child in the south. American tombs are rarely this ornate but I still love them.

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  6. This has nothing to do with this wonderful website that I check daily, but more an issue of homework for a pupil who is studying French at A-Level in England. I have come across a word called 'surrencherit' and have absolutely no idea what it means. I have checked every dictionary available but do not know what it is. I would be immensely grateful for any help! Jon

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  7. Non problem Jon. In comes from the word Surrenchérir and means to outbid (like during an auction... as with ebay...)

    Bon courage for Le homework!

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  8. Pere Lachaise, such a place of melancholy and beauty. It could be a lifetime project for a photographer to document in different lights of the day, seasons and so on. Is it possible to get some moody shots of Jim Morrisons grave? it would satisfy and old inmate of Polly Magoo from the late 70’s

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  9. Last week we went on a wonderful tour of Pere-Lachaise visiting the women buried their, Colette, Heloise (of Abelard fame) and many others.

    Your pictures capture the magic of the place, which is much more than just ogling famous old names on granite!

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