Did you know there are about 50 friendly stray cats living in the Montmartre Cemetery?
They seem to love it there. They sun themselves atop the gravestones, wander among the the tombs, and do their best to hide from passing people.
But as this very cemetery is open for this second Paris lockdown, and as it’s within my 1km radius for exercise… I’ve been visiting it a lot.
The cemetery itself is fantastic, 10 hectares of fascinating gravestones and beautiful autumnal trees… but it’s the cats that intrigue me.
How did they get there? Who’s feeding them? How many are there?
All these questions and more are answered in today’s podcast episode. It features my exploration of this cemetery and even an interview with one of the cat ladies who keep this feline population in control.
There’s also music by some of the stars buried at the cemetery, and an eerie soundtrack from the ever-watching crows. I’m sure you’ll like this episode – listen below.
If it’s just pictures of cats you’re after then you’re in luck too. Further down is a gallery of cat pics, all taken on a walk this weekend, all snapped by Montmartre photographer Ben Simpson.
If you’re looking for much, much more info on the cemetery, its graves, and even the cats – in fact everything mentioned in the episode and more – then sign up to become a Patreon member and unlock all the extras.
Click the images below for a closer look.
And lastly, here’s the episode again below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast for more like this every week. And keep a close eye on social media channels for more from this cemetery this week (especially Instagram and Facebook).