Beneath Paris, Sights to Rival Those Found Above

"Our aim is to examine the city's connection to its underground in a way
no one has before: we will attempt to walk from the southern edge to the
northern, using only catacombs, telecom tunnels, sewers and other
hidden infrastructure. It is a 14-mile trek, every step illegal. The six
of us-five Americans and an Australian-are prepared for a two- or
three-day journey, with nights sleeping in the bowels of Paris. We have
packed food, sleeping bags, an arsenal of flashlights and headlamps, and
gas meters to alert us to any poisonous fumes in the sewers. It will be
urban troglodytism, a walkabout in the wilderness under the city."

"Just as visitors to the surface of Paris follow a sight-seeing
itinerary-Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower-so do visitors to
its underside. Wandering through the alcoves connected to La Plage, we
visit a room with a Norman castle and rock-hewn gargoyles, a room heaped
with silk flowers, a room lined with paintings of film characters. We
encounter four separate groups of cataphiles. On a weekend night, La
Plage is as crowded as most Parisian bars."

Thanks to Daniel Lippman