Underground Paris's secret life

Updated 1443 GMT (2243 HKT) August 2, 2012

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The remains of more than six million people are buried in a vast network of tunnels below Paris, France. People who call themselves 'cataphiles' visit the catacombs illegally and occasionally hold underground parties.

Photos: The secret life of Paris

Underground Paris's secret life – The remains of more than six million people are buried in a vast network of tunnels below Paris, France. People who call themselves 'cataphiles' visit the catacombs illegally and occasionally hold underground parties.

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Photos: The secret life of Paris

Underground Paris's secret life – Skulls and bones are arranged to form the walls of the tunnels in the Paris Catacombs. Circa 1900.

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Bones from the Saints-Innocents cemetery were moved to the catacombs after the cemetery began overflowing with remains.

Photos: The secret life of Paris

Underground Paris's secret life – Bones from the Saints-Innocents cemetery were moved to the catacombs after the cemetery began overflowing with remains.

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Photos: The secret life of Paris

Underground Paris's secret life – Parts of the catacomb network date back to medieval times.

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These subterranean quarries that make up the catacombs had been used to store the remains of generations of Parisians in a bid to cope with the overcrowding of Paris' cemeteries at the end of the 18th century.

Photos: The secret life of Paris

Underground Paris's secret life – These subterranean quarries that make up the catacombs had been used to store the remains of generations of Parisians in a bid to cope with the overcrowding of Paris' cemeteries at the end of the 18th century.

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Photos: The secret life of Paris

Underground Paris's secret life – A pile of bones and skulls sits in the Paris Catacombs. Circa 1935

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