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Paris brings its graveyards to life during weekend festival

The Local France
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Paris brings its graveyards to life during weekend festival
Pere Lachaise cemetery, Paris. Photo: AFP

With spring well into swing, festival season has truly kicked off in Paris and this weekend is no exception. But a new event in the French capital on Saturday brings a rather unusual alternative to the other cultural events on offer.

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For the first time, Paris is hosting the "Printemps des Cimetières" a festival of music, guided tours, culinary walks, plays and music in it graveyards.

Among some of the events on offer, in Père-Lachaise in the 20th arrondissement, musicians will play music and sing songs in front of composers' tombs and there will be a guided tour of French gastronomy celebrities, with food.

Across the city in the cimetière de Montmartre, you will be able to join in some singing or browse through books from a pop up library in the quiet surroundings of the Belleville cemetery.

The festival launched in 2016, with the idea of opening up the country's graveyards and encouraging visitors to discover them. Over a dozen towns throughout France have taken part since then. Here is the full programme (in French) of what's going on Saturday in Paris for the "Printemps de Cimetières". 

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