Notre-Dame de Paris

Notre-Dame de Paris tickets: which one to buy

Entry to the cathedral is free and always has been, and since the reopening in December 2024 it is also timed: you reserve a free slot through the official site or app, released a couple of days ahead, and join a much shorter line than the walk-up queue. Without a booking you can still get in, usually after thirty to ninety minutes on the parvis. What is sold commercially is a guided tour, which buys you an explanation rather than faster entry, though some operators hold group slots.

The archaeological crypt under the square is a separate municipal ticket and covers the Roman and medieval remains of the island, a good stop if the cathedral queue is long. The towers, with the gargoyle walkway and the bell chamber, are run separately and reopened after the restoration with their own booked ticket and 424 steps. Packages that combine Notre-Dame with Sainte-Chapelle or a Seine cruise are convenient, but check whether the cathedral part is only an outdoor commentary.

Visiting Notre-Dame de Paris: what to see

Building began in 1163 and the church was largely finished by 1260, an early Gothic frame that pioneered the rib vault and the flying buttress. The fire of April 2019 destroyed the roof and the nineteenth-century spire and brought down part of the vault; five years of work replaced the oak forest of the roof with new oak cut the medieval way, cleaned eight centuries of soot from the stone and rebuilt the spire to Viollet-le-Duc's design.

The interior now reads pale gold instead of grey, which is how it would have looked when new and which some visitors find startling. The three rose windows survived: the north one is almost entirely thirteenth-century glass. New liturgical furniture in bronze by Guillaume Bardet sits at the crossing, and a new reliquary holds the Crown of Thorns. The great organ, cleaned pipe by pipe, has 8,000 pipes and is played at Sunday services and at free recitals. Outside, walk round to the east end to see the flying buttresses, which is where the building explains itself.

Notre-Dame de Paris opening hours and the best time to go

The cathedral opens early and closes in the evening, with longer hours on Thursdays and Fridays. Attendance has been higher since the reopening than before the fire, and the morning hours to midday are the busiest; the last two hours of the day are calmer. Mass is celebrated several times daily and visitors may stay, standing at the back, though movement through the nave stops. Sunday is difficult for sightseeing and wonderful for the organ.

The free timed reservation is the single most useful thing to arrange, and slots open forty-eight hours ahead. Security screening is thorough. Dress is not policed but modest clothing is expected. Photography without flash is allowed in the nave. The parvis outside is now open again and is the best place to see the west front, particularly in the late afternoon when the sun is on the portals; the bridge Pont de l'Archeveche behind the apse gives the classic view of the buttresses and the new spire.