Thepére-lachaise cemetery: Between dark tourism and heterotopic consumption

Each year on November 1st (All Saints Day), candles light up the Pére-Lachaise Cemetery and flowers bloom everywhere. Surprisingly, few people still have family members buried in this green and peaceful place. Today, the Pére-Lachaise Ceme- tery is recognized as a major tourist destination in Paris. The spot is especially vis- ited for its famous ‘residents’ such as La Fontaine (fabulist), Moliére (playwright and actor), Delacroix (artist), Chopin (composer and pianist), Edith Piaf (singer), Jim Morrison (singer), Oscar Wilde (writer and poet) and Allan Kardec (founder of the spiritualismmovement). But the location is also valued as a place for relaxa- tion, as a hill on which to go for walks, or as an art museum in the open air. Many people visit the Pére-Lachaise to learn about memorials and particular tombs, to enjoy transcending experiences, and to have the opportunity to meditate or to mourn.