Taking its name from the confessor of Louis XIV, the Père-Lachaise cemetery was opened in 1804 as a final resting place for Parisians. However, at the time, most Parisians did not want to be buried so far from central Paris in what was then considered a poor country area. Surprisingly, the cemetery was a financial failure in the years after its opening. To attract more people, the bodies of Molière and la Fontaine were transfered to Père-Lachaise in its early years.

Normally the largest green space in Paris, the cemetery is rather somber in January. The cemetery today covers over 44 hectares and is divided into 97 sections. In its maze of winding roads can be found the remains of many famous people: Hononré de Balzac, Frédéric Chopin, Edith Pilaf, Oscar Wilde, et Jim Morrison.