Cimetière du Père-Lachaise

When Père Lachaise Cemetery opened in eighteen hundred and four, it was a failure by every traditional metric. Located on a hillside on the outskirts of Paris, the site attracted only thirteen burials in its first year because the public considered it too far from the city center and the Catholic Church had not yet blessed the grounds. To save the project, administrators orchestrated a brilliant marketing campaign by transferring the remains of legendary figures like the fable writer Jean de La Fontaine and the playwright Molière to this new location. This bold move transformed the site into a status symbol, turning a desolate hilltop into the most sought-after final address in France.