Cathedral · Other

Notre-Dame de Paris

Paris, France

"Notre-Dame de Paris — Our Lady of Paris — is the most famous Gothic cathedral in the world and the most vis..."

Highlights

1The world's most famous Gothic cathedral — reopened December 7, 2024 after the devastating 2019 fire Construction began in 1163 and the original structure was largely complete by 1250 The 2024 restoration employed over 2,000 craftspeople and cost approximately 700 million euros The Rose Windows — North, South, and West — are among the greatest achievements of Gothic stained glass
2Expected to receive 15 million visitors per year following its 2024 reopening

Getting There

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Address

6 Parvis Notre-Dame - Place Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France

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Directions

Metro Lines 4 to Cité station (on the Île de la Cité, steps from the cathedral). Also RER B or D to Saint-Michel Notre-Dame. From central Paris no more than 15 minutes by Metro from any arrondissement.

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Timings

Current time — Paris Time (CET)

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When	Hours	Note

Cathedral Currently open — check official schedule post-2024 reopening Treasury Same as cathedral hours, separate ticket Pre-booking of a visit slot is required following reopening due to expected volumes. Free entry to the cathedral. Treasury requires a ticket. Mass is celebrated daily and the cathedral remains an active parish.

Masses & Events

Daily Mass

8:00 AM Mon-Fri; Saturday Vigil 6:30 PM;

Sunday

8:30, 10 AM, 12:15, 6:30 PM

Active parish schedule

Sunday Pontifical Mass with Choir

Sunday 10:00 AM

The principal solemn celebration with the Maîtrise choir

Vespers

Daily 5:45 PM

Sung by the cathedral choirmaster and singers

Must See

The Gothic Exterior

Portals and Flying Buttresses

West façade and exterior [OUTDOOR] The three portals of the west façade — Portal of the Virgin, Portal of the Last Judgement, Portal of St Anne — constitute a complete theological encyclopaedia in stone. The flying buttresses, which allow the thin, window-filled walls, are visible around the exterior. The apse view from the quai de la Tournelle shows the buttresses at their most dramatic.

The Rose Windows

North, South, and West transepts The three rose windows are the finest of any Gothic cathedral. The North rose (c. 1250), almost entirely original, depicts Old Testament figures in concentric rings of deep blue and red. The South rose shows Christ in glory. The West rose is the most damaged by history but was largely restored in the 19th century. Post-2024, the cleaned stone around them reveals colours unseen for generations.

The Treasury

South side of the nave Contains the Crown of Thorns

the most sacred relic in France, acquired by Louis IX in 1238 for more money than it cost to build the Sainte-Chapelle. Also contains a piece of the True Cross and a nail of the Crucifixion. Displayed on Good Friday; the Crown is the centrepiece of Notre-Dame's significance as a reliquary church.

The Bell Towers

Accessible via the North Tower The 387 steps to the top of the North Tower offer the most famous view in Paris

the South Tower, the spire (rebuilt in 2024), the Seine, and the city spreading to every horizon. The gargoyles and chimera of Viollet-le-Duc line the balustrade. The Ile de la Cité Setting — Exterior — along the quais [OUTDOOR] Notre-Dame occupies the centre of the island at the heart of Paris — the geographical and historical origin of the city. The Seine wraps around it. Walking the quais at dawn or dusk, with the cathedral above and the river below, is the oldest way to experience Paris.

Intentions

Carry these intentions into the Basilica with you — pause at each sacred spot and lift them to God.

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For Paris and for France, in gratitude for the return of their cathedral

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For those who grieve a loss that seemed irreparable — that something may be restored

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For the craftspeople, stonemasons, and conservators who gave years to the restoration

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For the millions who wept when the spire fell in 2019 For a renewed sense of the sacred in European culture

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For the protection of all heritage from fire, war, and indifference

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For pilgrims who find God in great beauty as much as in quiet prayer

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For the parish of Notre-Dame and all who worship here

Reflection

On the night the spire fell, people stood on the bridges of Paris and wept openly — including people who had never entered the cathedral and did not consider themselves religious. This tells us something important: the sacred is not the property of believers. It belongs to everyone who has ever looked up at a great building and felt something that cannot be named. Notre-Dame belongs to Paris, and Paris belongs to the world. Its return is not a triumph of religion. It is a triumph of the human need to build something that outlasts us.

Suggested Scripture — Nehemiah 2:18

So they began this good work.

Read in full on Bible Gateway →

A Pilgrim's Prayer

Our Lady of Paris, you have stood above this river for eight hundred and fifty years. You survived revolution, war, neglect, fire, and the indifference of generations. You are rebuilt now — brighter than before. Let whatever fire has damaged me also become an opportunity for restoration. Let what was lost in me be rebuilt with patience and love. Amen.

Notre-Dame de Paris — Our Lady of Paris — is the most famous Gothic cathedral in the world and the most visited monument in France. After being severely damaged by fire on the night of April 15, 2019 — when its spire collapsed and its vaults were breached — the cathedral underwent a five-year restoration project of extraordinary ambition, reopening on December 7, 2024. Post-reopening visitor projections for 2025 exceed 15 million people per year.

History

The cathedral was begun under Bishop Maurice de Sully in 1163 and largely completed by 1250, though construction and modification continued for centuries. Its twin towers, iconic flying buttresses, rose windows, and the extraordinary programme of Gothic sculpture on its portals make it the definitive visual statement of medieval Christian architecture. Victor Hugo’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris (1831) triggered a 19th-century restoration led by Viollet-le-Duc, who added the now-lost spire.

The Restoration

The 2024 restoration — which employed over 2,000 craftspeople and cost approximately 700 million euros — was a global event. The rebuilt interior is brighter and more luminous than the pre-fire version: the restored and cleaned stonework reveals colours unseen for centuries, and new liturgical furnishings by Guillaume Bardet give the sanctuary a contemporary clarity while maintaining dialogue with the medieval structure. Notre-Dame returned as a statement not only of French cultural pride but of the endurance of the sacred.