Père Lachaise Cemetery

The Cimetiere du Pere-Lachaise in the 20th arrondissement is the largest cemetery in Paris at 43 hectares and is generally considered the world's first garden cemetery. It opened in 1804 under Napoleon but was little used at first - until in 1817 the city ceremoniously transferred the bones of Moliere, La Fontaine and the lovers Abelard and Heloise to its grounds. The PR stunt worked and the cemetery became fashionable. Today around a million people lie here, including Chopin, Edith Piaf, Oscar Wilde, Jim Morrison, Marcel Proust and Maria Callas. The hilly grounds with paved lanes, old chestnut trees and family mausoleums are freely accessible during the day. The wardens' offices at the Rue du Repos and Boulevard de Menilmontant gates hand out a free map of the most-visited graves.