I m confused!!!!!!!!?

Question

few minutes back i asked in yahoo answers whether 'les catacombes' in paris is a museum or not...everyone said dat it wasnt... but now in the 'list of MUSEUMs in Paris' in wikipedia les catacombes is included!!!!!!!! one of u guys pleaseeeee tell whether it is a museum or not pleaseeeee.....

Answer 1

It is. After three months' renovation, it has just reopened to visitors. Check out their site:

http://www.catacombes-de-paris.fr/englis...

Answer 2

no

Answer 3

The catacombs are not a museum but simply a place where bones were collected when the cemetaries of Paris were emptied.

However, there is an entrance fee and some explanatory material is present so, in that sense, it is a museum.

And finally, what Wikipedia says about anything, is only is good as the people who wrote it and they are often idiots.

Answer 4

Yes.   Go to Notre Dame.  Face the front of the Cathedral.  Front of the Hotel de Villa will be on your left, Charlemagne statue on your right.  The Museum is directly behind you.  There is a sign but it is a little hard to see because it is at the stairs that go down to the catacombs but walk backwards and you will fall in.

Answer 5

Yes, it is. On the Paris tourist office website, it is listed as a Musée de la Ville de Paris, meaning it is a museum managed by the City of Paris, unlike National museums (like the Louvre) which are under the responsibility of the French Dept of Culture or private museums managed by private owners.

http://en.parisinfo.com/shows-exhibition...

But it is not a museum in the sense of a traditional exhibition hall, it is an underground ossuary. Museums come in many different forms, sometimes they are outdoor places. Here is the definition of a museum, according to the American Heritage dictionary: "A building, place, or institution devoted to the acquisition, conservation, study, exhibition, and educational interpretation of objects having scientific, historical, or artistic value."

EDIT: and I agree that Wikipedia is not always right, although in this case it is. There are a lot of inaccuracies. It should only be used as a way to get a basic idea of what something is or as a starting point, especially when sources are not mentioned. Sometimes you click on the source and it says the opposite of what is written in the article! Which shows that some of the people that write the articles do not even know how to interpret data.

Answer 6

It's not a museum but you have to pay to visit the visitable part of it (which is pretty small compared to all the catacombes), that's why it's on the list of the museums.

Answer 7

I guess it depends on your interpretation of the word museum.  If you consider a museum to be a building that houses paintings, sculptures, and various other works of art, then no the catacombs are not a museum.  If you consider a collection of antiquities stored in one place with accompanying information, then yes they would be a museum.

Answer 8

the catacombes run beneath the actual city streets

You do have to pay for guided tours, but it is incredibly creepy and worth a look.

That said I don't believe that they actually show you the REAL catacombes which are lined with human skulls and skeletons!!

ahaha  I haven't read all the other answers as their are far too many of them!