Roman Catacombs

I hadn’t pre-booked tickets as didn’t want to be late if the trains were delayed but all went well so got rid of suitcase at hotel and headed straight to the catacombs for the first tour of the day. Nobody was booked in already and the ticket office and tour guide spoke and really kindly said that if nobody else arrived they could do the tour in English instead of the usual Dutch (though there is a very comprehensive booklet that will be given to you at the ticket office so you can read it as the tour guide takes you through the catacombs). Had also only discovered about these caves as was coming to the Christmas markets in other Valkenberg caves and looked to see what else the town had to offer. I am in love with Roman history and when I first read about this this place I thought they were actual Roman catacombs. However upon reading further I discovered they were replicas and decided if the train didn’t arrive on time we would not bother with it. This would have been a MASSIVE mistake!!! This place is amazing. Recreated in a marl quarry in Valkenburg in 1910 and 1912, the replicas are exact recreations of catacombs and some are even of catacombs that cannot be visited by the public in Rome (though thankfully with larger corridors!). The stories behind each one are fascinating. When there was an earthquake in Rome and one of the catacombs suffered damage, the people restoring it actually came here to see what they needed to put it back to! The replicas even create some of the graffiti that has been left in the originals over the years. Jean was the PERFECT guide. Very passionate about the subject, great historical knowledge and all done in a very entertaining and informative way. And even though I know a lot, I learnt so much from him, especially the history and symbolism of the frescoes. To view all parts of the catacombs would take several hours so the tour guides get to pick which places to go to and with groups of up to 20 this can be a bit difficult. It was so lucky that nobody else had booked as Jean was able to show so much more than usual and take us into some of the smaller catacombs. So grateful for everything I was shown and told and very lucky basically had a private tour so I really encourage everyone to go as this is an amazing experience. I only discovered at the end of the tour (via a sign on the exit door) that the guides are all volunteers so please bring a little something to say thank you at the end of the tour if your enjoyed it as much as I did. Having enjoyed the tour so much in English, it would be amazing if certain tours could be allocated as English speaking (and other languages) a couple of times a week to encourage non-Dutch speaking guests to book those ones as this is a fantastic experience.

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