About five years ago, on a quiet Sunday morning in Uppsala, Sweden, I walked through a park-like cemetery and from a distance watched an older woman tend to the grave of her recently deceased husband. It is one of those moments that’s burned into my memory for being both terribly sad and incredibly beautiful. That morning, and through a few other visits to European cemeteries over the years, I have come to learn that some of the most beautiful parks in many foreign cities are in fact their graveyards.

While in Paris back in March, I made a two trips to cemeteries within the city. The first was a morning visit to the Montparnasse Cemetery in the same neighbourhood as my hotel.

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