These Spooky Abandoned Sites Around Paris Will Give You Chills

Brice Retout is a daring photographer who traces a forgotten past: from empty châteaux hidden deep in the woodlands to spooky doctors’ surgeries that haven’t been touched in decades, rediscover Paris through its most haunting secrets. “I’ve been working in wastelands for more than 15 years now,” Brice Retout tells Culture Trip. “It’s the feeling that inspires me the most. To be cut off from the real world and to walk on a forgotten path, to discover these unique monuments that most people do not take the time to admire, even though they offer tons of surprises. It’s a simple trip back in time, in calm and serenity, far from the hubbub of everyday life.”

“My architecture photography draws mainly upon the work of Franck Bohbot. The work of David Lachapelle and Lee Jeffries is of great interest to me as well. The most important thing to remember is that it is a risky practice, because of the deterioration of buildings. They are often old buildings, and dying. This means they are dangerous, with unstable floors.”

Here is a snapshot of some of his most haunting shoots.

Abandoned château tucked away in the forest

Abandoned sites photography series in Île-de-France

Ramshackled salons with fraying fauteuil armchairs

Doctors’ surgeries crumbling in disrepair

Towering old manors standing in ruins

Swirling staircases that haven’t been swept in decades

Impressive wooden interiors now riddled with rot

Elegant, panelled chambers peeling at the walls

Cute, vintage cars rusting in the leaves

Glorious columns now shabby and decayed

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