Valkenburg — Travelrags

Atlas ObscuraAug 11, 2026

19 Creepy Catacombs Around the World You Can Visit

Catacombs—underground rooms and tunnels used as cemeteries—date back to first-century Rome, but the most famous (and infamous) were created across Europe in the 17th century. Overcrowding in Paris’s more traditional burial spaces, as well as sanitation issues, led authorities to turn the miles of tunnels connecting quarries under the city into crypts. It’s believed that more than six million pe…

21 things in this story

Museum Romeinse Katakomben (Roman Catacombs Museum)MuseumFaithful reproduction of Roman catacombs in a quarry.
Elsewhere
Templo ExpiatorioPlace of worshipLeón, MexicoNeo-Gothic church providing entry to an underground world.
Catacombs of Washington, D.C.SightWashington, United StatesCreated by Franciscan monks to channel the Holy Land.
Petrovaradin FortressSightNovi Sad, SerbiaHidden underground military galleries, a four-story network.
Old St. Patrick’s CathedralSightNew York, United StatesCatacombs open to the public for candlelight tours.
Delmonico familyPlaceNew York, United StatesFounders of New York’s oldest surviving restaurant.
Sanità districtNeighborhoodNaples, ItalySite of Greek-era catacombs with oldest surviving Christian art.
St. Paul’s and St. Agatha’s catacombsSightRabat, MaltaHolds one of the finest surviving examples of an agape table.
Fontanelle Cemetery CavesSightNaples, ItalyCave complex used as a burial ground since the 1500s.
Santa Maria delle Anime del Purgatorio ad ArcoSightNaples, ItalyBegan burying Naples’s poor and unclaimed in 1638.
Catacombs at Templo ExpiatorioSightLeón, MexicoLabyrinth of catacombs formed from seven interconnected crypts.
Warstone Lane Cemetery CatacombsSightBirmingham, United KingdomTiered, semicircular catacombs resembling a Roman amphitheater.
Maltese Catacomb ComplexesSightRabat, MaltaComplex holds tombs for over 1,000 bodies.
Igreja de São Francisco CatacombsSightPorto, PortugalCatacombs hold tombs for members of the Franciscan order.
Ta’ Bistra CatacombsSightMosta, MaltaLargest catacomb complex found outside Rabat.
The Sacconi Rossi CryptSightRome, ItalyCrypt decorated with bones of deceased brothers.
The Catacombs of St. Peter’s AbbeySightSalzburg, AustriaServed as a sacred burial site and hermitage.
Melník Chapel of BonesSightMelnik, CzechiaVault holds exhumed bodies from plague-ridden cemeteries.
Klatovy Catacomb MummiesSightKlatovy, CzechiaVentilation system naturally mummified bodies.
Capuchin Monastery CatacombsSightPalermo, ItalyNearly 8,000 corpses dressed in their Sunday best.
Catacombes de ParisMuseumParis, FranceHolds remains of six to seven million Parisians.

Read the full piece at Atlas Obscura →