How close can you get to Notre Dame?

I suggest you read the following info from the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau:

"Notre-Dame: the current situation:

All the information following the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral."

https://en.parisinfo.com/practical-paris/info/guides/notre-dame-the-current-situation

I hope someone who is in Paris will post some up to day info. Everything I found online (including the linked website above) was written shortly after the fire and does not contain current info. I've heard anecdotally that is has changed somewhat since that time, but I'm not sure exactly what the status is.

Webcam in Paris, France: Cathédrale Notre Dame:
https://www.webcamgalore.com/webcam/France/Paris/17081.html
Note: better to view during daylight hours or look at the 24 hour archives for daylight views.

You can cross the bridge in back of the Cathedral and you can walk along the left bank both on the sidewalk and below along the river. You can not get close in the front -- the St. Michel Bridge which is a fair way down river is the one you have to cross from right to left bank in front of the Cathedral -- the plaza in front of the church and the bridge just to the west of the plaza are blocked off. You can get a fairly close and good view of the Cathedra from aboveish from the roof terrace of the Institute Monde Arabe. The streets to the North e.g. Cloistre are blocked off and you cannot circle from that side.

Thanks Janet. I hoped you would see this post and comment.

I heard their are lead issues in the area because the roof and spire were made of lots of lead.

There certainly were rumours of lead issues. Testing has shown no increase of environmental lead in the area.

Has anyone found a source for a better map of the area? the one at https://en.parisinfo.com/practical-paris/info/guides/notre-dame-the-current-situation is illegible

I heard their are lead issues in the area because the roof and spire
were made of lots of lead.

The lead melted and has to be cleaned up from inside the cathedral. I'm not sure what else you might be referring to. It didn't spread all over the "area".

A friend lives in Paris and based on pictures from his Facebook posts, appears you can actually get fairly close.

Is there a problem walking across from the other side of the Seine (the Hotel de Ville side?)

On Paris and hof now. We are going by today. I will let you know later

Kim

When walking from the right bank to the left you either have to go across Pont St. Michel which is a couple of bridges down river from ND or go in the back of the cathedral across that bridge. All this information is laid out in the first few posts in this thread.

We are in Paris now. You can walk very close to Notre Dame. It is surrounded by fences, netting, and security, but you can definely get close enough to take photos from several sides.

I will be staying on ile saint Louis, I used to cross the foot bridge from Ile Saint Louis and walk along the side of Notre Dame. How do I get there now from Ile Saint Louis? I need to catch the hop on off bus, not sure if it still stops at Notre Dame now?

The bridge from St.Louis to Cite is open and so is the bridge that runs to the back side of Notre Dame. No idea where the HOHO stops or if that has changed.

Douglas,

You are not correct when you say the lead from the Notre Dame fire was just a local issue. Airbourne lead from fires is one of the most dangerous modes of exposure to human beings. The lead would have been both melted and vaporized by the heat of the flames, and the violent physics of such a fire would have sent a significant amount of particulate lead into the atmosphere. The larger drops of lead condensate would fall out of the smoke plume within a short distance, but the smaller particulates could have been carried long distances, particularly if they have adhered to dust/ash particles.

Inhalation or ingestion of lead can in relatively small amounts can cause serious health consequences to humans. Were I one of those citizens who came out to watch the fire and breathed the smoke I would consider having a blood test for lead exposure. A lot of the lead that was deposited close to the cathedral would have been washed into the Seine along with the ash and dust. I would be surprised it the French health officials did not have a lead sampling program going to determine the safety of eating fish caught downstream from Paris.

Not trying to be an alarmist, here, but I am a nuclear and industrial safety scientist by trade, and those are the facts.

We’re in Paris now and while you can get fairly close there are very tall temporary walls surrounding the cathedral. So while you’re close you can’t see much.

The Parisinfo website said that the Metro station Cité (line 4) and the RER station Saint-Michel Notre Dame (lines B and C) were closed to the public. Does anyone know if they have reopened now? Thanks!

I just got back a couple days ago. I used the RER Line B entrance (Notre Dame/St Michele) that comes out about a block from Notre Dame itself (the entrance is actually at the corner of the Cluny). It's the same stop but the underground passages connect several entrances and only the entrance directly in front of the church is closed. The metro stop itself and the other entrances are open.

Thanks, Isabel. That's exactly the info I was looking for!