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Notre Dame question

I was in Paris last month and went to Notre Dame to hopefully get up to the tower and take some gargoyle photos. Of course I waited in the wrong line outside (the one just to tour the main part of the church). I then went to the ticket office inside and they said to go back outside and around the corner where I found a sleepy guy behind the chain link fence. He told me it was already sold out. This was around 3pm. After I returned to my hotel, I discovered an app you can download that will only work when you are close to the Notre Dame. Once you are on, I believe you can buy tickets for specific times and it may show you how many people are in front of you?

Does anyone have tips on the best way to get a ticket?

Frustrated Photographer

Posted by
12172 posts

I just went a half hour before it opened and was first in line. That technique has worked for me again and again. I'd rather kill 30 minutes waiting when nothing is open than lose twice that, or more, going a little later when everything is open and I could be doing something else.

Posted by
1829 posts

I have been before and was under the impression you cannot pre-purchase those for a time slot.
I suspect it was "sold out" because it was closing at 4 PM and the que of people already on-line or inside past the ticket office they estimated would take until 4 PM to get through.

The time I went it, I got there about 20 minutes before they opened and there were already about 80 people on line ahead of me.
I waited.
Once they open it moves fast so I actually thought to myself at the time it was not helpful to get here before they opened.

Inside you are kind of time ushered through ; you have about 3 minutes at certain stop points ; since the same stair case is used for both up and down they need to time organize everything.
That is why I believe they know based on where the line is how long it will take for them all to go through.

On select days in the summer I believe they have some night time openings ; for photography those would be best and may get less crowds? Not sure about that but have to research when it is actually open late as the regular schedule is not open too early or too late for good light.

Posted by
9404 posts

“They use the same staircase for up and down”

Have they changed how it’s been done for decades? I’ve been up many times (but it’s been a few years) and each time we went up one staircase (on the left side of ND) and down the other staircase (on the right side of ND).
If they’re using just one staircase now I can imagine it would be a very long wait to go up.

Posted by
1829 posts

Susan,
Definitely don't quote me on that, only been there once myself. To clarify I believe only for some portions they use the same staircase or at least that was a reason we were given.
Regardless of the reason I can say beyond a doubt that they rush you through with your "group".
I say group as even though you are not in the same party when you reach certain sections they only allow x number of people to that area and this becomes your group. You must leave with that same group of people before they let a new batch enter in.

And they are definitely organized to some type of timed schedule.
For a photographer trying to get a nice photo during the brief time you are outside it can be challenging or least if you are attempting anything other than handheld it is challenging.
If you are thinking you will left on your own to explore, you will not be happy but of course if they did that the lines would be much longer.

The website you linked states clearly no advance ticket purchase is available and also no priority lines for pass holders so everyone must wait on the same line.
As to why the OP was told it was sold out, I cannot think of anything other than what I wrote on how that could happen unless there was some type of special event.

They open at 10 AM which I thought was late and as I mentioned arrived on line at 9:40 and it was already packed.

Posted by
7981 posts

Most of this information here is out of date. You now reserve a time slot the morning you wish to do the visit. There is an ap with which to do it and it works near the Cathedral. We will see how far away it works as we will be in the 13th. You can reserve your slot on the ap the morning of the day you wish to visit or go to the Cathedral and get a reservation from a machine. You then return a few minutes before your reserved time slot. The slots go early so if you show up at noon to stand in line, they may be 'sold out' as the times were all reserved early in the morning. Now you don't go and stand in line, you reserve a time; that is the only way to access the climb.

Here is a link that explains this; they sell tickets to but they don't do the time slot reservation; you have to do that the morning of your visit:
https://booking.parisinfo.com/il4-offer_i174-notre-dame-de-paris-cathedral-towers-independent-visit.aspx

Posted by
9404 posts

mreynolds, I didn’t provide the link, Nancy did.

“For clarity, I believe only for some portions they use the same staircase”

That isn’t possible. The two staircases are on opposite sides of ND from each other.

For others who have never been and are reading this, the staircases are original to the building... so 800-900 yrs old? They are spiral, stone, steep and narrow. Only one person at a time can comfortably fit. There are very small alcoves where there’s a “window” that you can step aside into to let faster climbers go by.
It’s not an easy climb imo.

Posted by
22 posts

I just clicked on their website and it does look like there is a way to buy the tickets on-line through the site.
Oddly, there is no way to print your tickets. I may just go early and use the app.

Posted by
7981 posts

you can buy the ticket on line but there is no point to that because it does not give you access without a reservation made the day you want to climb. When you have that reservation on the day you want to climb, you just pay for the ticket when you get there. Reserving the ticket on line has no advantage.

FWIW. It has been a very long time since I did this so my memory might be off, but I recall coming down a different staircase than we went up. The stairs are super narrow. If you can't more or less keep up, it isn't a climb for you. I also remember how sore my legs were the next day as I spent a lot of time blocked from moving and so poised between stairs with all my weight on those thigh muscles.

Posted by
1829 posts

Thanks for the update Jane!
That is definitely fairly new, was there last a little less than 18 months ago and there was no way to reserve a time slot then.
Sorry for any outdated info on that.

Agreed about the stairs. Add to it you are with many others in these tiny winding staircases so if I was told they used the same staircase for portions and was inaccurate I sure did not have the brain capacity to figure that out at the time.

I am going this July and did plan on going again so if you can post back about how that app works it would be helpful to me and I am sure others as well.