It's on 1 of my list. Each entry below is what I wrote about it there, with my verdict on that list, the fullest first.
- SubwayR, W to Prince St, 3 min
- Address266 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10012
- From my guide, updated September 2026.
Skip the tourist version and do it like a local, here’s how.
The Catacombs at The Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral offer a unique journey into the underground burial chambers of three dozen families. To visit, you’ll need to purchase a guided tour ticket because access is restricted. The tour lasts 80 minutes and meets in the basilica’s graveyard.
To enter the catacombs you’ll pass through a passageway inside the church, which you might recognize from the baptism scene in The Godfather (1972). Then you’ll descend underground into one of the most unusual museums in NYC, where you will follow a knowledgeable guide who’ll explain the historical significance of the catacombs.
The catacombs aren’t lined with skulls and bones like the ones in Rome or in Paris, rather they’re vaults that hold some of the city’s most prominent early Catholic families. Among those interred are the first Bishop of New York, John Connolly, Abraham Lincoln’s advisor, Thomas Eckert, and members of the Delmonico family.