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A Guide to Visiting Notre Dame during Holy Week/Easter [Resource]

Hi! Below are the details about visiting Notre Dame during Holy Week and Easter (from Sunday, April 13th until Sunday, April 20th), and the schedule of Easter Masses and services.

The full details about visiting Notre Dame, booking a time slot, the reservation system, least crowded times to visit, regular Mass information, etc, can be found on my Reddit post that I regularly keep updated, which has been shared on this forum by other members. I would post its contents here, but it's way longer than the word limit here!

No visitor time slots/reservations will be available from Sunday, April 13th until after Sunday, April 20th.

Visitors can still enter by waiting in the "Access without reservations" queue (blue signage), which is on the left side (if you're facing/looking at Notre Dame), but those who are attending for Mass/services and for prayer/worship get priority entrance over visitors/tourists. The crowds are expected to be very high during Holy Week and Easter, so be prepared for the possibility that you could be waiting up to 3 hours, with no guarantee that you'll be able to enter (if the capacity limit is reached.

Notre Dame has modified hours on the following days:

  • Wednesday, April 16th: Early closure (at 1:30pm) for visitors/tourists.
  • Friday, April 19th: Early closure (at 4:30pm) for visitors/tourists.

If you're attending a Mass/service, you can wait in the "Mass and services only" queue. It's on the right side (if you're facing/looking at Notre Dame), and it's marked by a small white sign. Entrance starts 30 minutes ahead of the start time of whichever Mass/service you're attending. But if attending is really important to you, I recommend arriving 1 hour in advance, due to the large number of people that are expected to attend. Entrance is still subject to the available capacity inside the cathedral.

Certain services start at different hours than usual and/or are not happening during Holy Week/Easter (see individual notes beside each one):

Sunday, April 13th (Palm Sunday):

  • Morning Mass/Palm Sunday Mass at 8:30am
  • International Mass/Palm Sunday Mass at 10:30am (instead of the usual Gregorian Mass at 10:00am)
  • International Mass/Palm Sunday Mass at 12:30pm (instead of the usual 11:30am)
  • Diocesan Mass/Palm Sunday Mass at 6:00pm

Note: There is no Lauds and no Vespers

Monday, April 14th:

  • Regular Masses/services

Tuesday, April 15th:

  • Regular Masses/services

Wednesday, April 16th (Spy Wednesday):

  • Morning Mass at 8:00am
  • Afternoon Mass at 12:00pm
  • Evening Mass/Chrism Mass led by the Archbishop of Paris at 6:30pm (instead of the usual 6:00pm)

Note: There is no Vespers

Thursday, April 17th (Maundy Thursday):

  • Tenebrae at 9:00am
  • Evening Mass/Mass of the Lord's Supper led by the Archbishop of Paris at 7:00pm (instead of the usual 6:00pm)

Note: There is no Morning Mass, Afternoon Mass or Vespers

Friday, April 18th (Good Friday):

  • Tenebrae at 9:00am
  • Veneration of the Crown of Thorns from 10:00am until 5:00pm
  • Procession of the Stations of the Cross at 12:00pm (outside on the parvis)
  • Procession of the Stations of the Cross at 3:00pm (inside Notre Dame)
  • Evening Mass/Celebration of the Passion of the Lord at 7:00pm (instead of the usual 6:00pm)

Note: There is no Morning Mass, Afternoon Mass or Vespers

Saturday, April 19th (Holy Saturday):

  • Tenebrae at 9:00am
  • Easter Vigil at 9:00pm

Note: There is no Morning Mass, Afternoon Mass, Vespers or Evening Mass

Sunday, April 20th (Easter Sunday):

  • Morning Mass at 8:30am
  • Lauds at 9:30am
  • Gregorian Mass at 10:00am
  • International Mass at 11:30am
  • Ecumenical Celebration of the Mystery of Easter led by the Archbishop of Paris at 4:00pm
  • Diocesan Mass at 6:00pm

Note: There is no Vespers

If you have any questions, just let me know!

Posted by
5 posts

Thank you! Not sure we are up for a three hour wait as we will only be in Paris for 24 hours, we found a church not far from our hotel that we plan to attend. Happy Easter!

Posted by
62 posts

Thank you for the synopsis!

So, I know no one has a crystal ball, but if one were going to try to visit Notre Dame next week anyway (on Monday or Tuesday), any thoughts on what would be the better option to try- right at opening in the AM or late afternoon?

Posted by
39 posts

Thank you! Not sure we are up for a three hour wait as we will only be in Paris for 24 hours, we found a church not far from our hotel that we plan to attend. Happy Easter!

Hi famousbill19,

That's understandable. Enjoy your stay in Paris!!


Thank you for the synopsis!... So, I know no one has a crystal ball, but if one were going to try to visit Notre Dame next week anyway (on Monday or Tuesday), any thoughts on what would be the better option to try- right at opening in the AM or late afternoon?

Hi Laura,

You're welcome! I would recommend right at opening/in the morning. Typically, late afternoon is the busiest time of the day.