Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise (Pere Lachaise Cemetery)

The Cimetière du Père Lachaise, which occupies 44 hectares (109 acres) on the eastern edge of Paris, is one of the city's less obvious attractions, yet features on many a visitor's itinerary. The cemetery is named after the Jesuit priest Père François de la Chaise, who was confessor to Louis XIV, and quickly became the most prestigious burial ground in the whole of the city, due to its location and royal connections. Some 70,000 graves adorn the site, with famous names including writers, such as Molière, La Fontaine, Balzac and Oscar Wilde, singers Edith Piaf and Maria Callas, composer Frédéric Chopin and impressionist painter Camille Pissarro. Jim Morrison's grave invariably attracts the most attention.