Notre Dame - Re-opening and first public visits since the April 2019 fire

Thank you for sharing this information. Are there any plans to allow access to the towers? We will be there late June and hope to get up close to the gargoyles once again.

Thank you for the information. Is there any information concerning the need for a ticket to attend Mass? Specifically the Christmas Masses?
Merci

I haven't seen anything on either the towers or tickets for attending masses.

This is so exciting! I cannot wait to see her restored to her splendor.

I have planned an April 4 to Trip back to Paris Especially to see The new Notre Dame As I've been there twice since the fire And can't wait until April!

I have planned an April 4 to Trip back to Paris Especially to see The new Notre Dame As I've been there twice since the fire And can't wait until April!

Janet: We will be there from April 2-4 before leaving the next morning for the RS Belgium-Holland tour. We've been anxious to return to Paris since our first trip in 2015 and have been watching for news about Notre Dame.

Kim: Thanks so much for posting this.

Thanks for posting this. I’m planning my first trip to Paris for late April 2025 and definitely want to visit inside Notre Dame!

Kim, thanks so much for posting! You know I'm excited we will all be back inside! I'm not religious in the least but I feel something special in the inside of this sacred space.

Here's a NY Times article with some of the details (gifted, so hopefully it will open okay for people)

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/13/world/europe/notre-dame-cathedral-reopening.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Z04.fK_0.aj-JycE7VdAk&smid=url-share

And it also mentions the reservations system and that it will only be open for individuals for at least the first few months:

To help manage the flow of tourists and pilgrims to Notre-Dame’s interior, now stripped of ash, lead dust and centuries of grime, the cathedral will set up a free online reservation system and release a smartphone app guide. At first, only individual visitors will be permitted; the cathedral will begin accepting tour groups in the spring of 2025.

And regarding the idea of charging entry:

France’s culture minister had suggested last month that Notre-Dame charge an entrance fee to help fund the upkeep of the country’s thousands of churches and religious monuments. But Archbishop Ulrich repeated on Wednesday that French Catholic authorities were strenuously opposed to the idea. The French state owns the cathedral, but the French Catholic Church runs it.

And on the origin of the fire:

An investigation continues into the cause of the blaze, but a definitive cause may never be determined. The leading theories among investigators are that it was sparked by an electrical short-circuit or a discarded cigarette.

Thank you very much for posting.

I thought this was worth noting:

“At the time of the fire, it was not in great shape,” Philippe Jost, the head of the cathedral’s reconstruction task force, said at Wednesday’s news conference. “You’ll have to get used to seeing the cathedral with scaffolding.”

Also,

Once reopened, about 14 million to 15 million yearly visitors are expected at Notre-Dame, a Gothic medieval masterpiece that was among the world’s most visited monuments before the fire shut it down.

That's about 3,500 visitors per hour, if the cathedral is open 12 hours per day, 365 days a year. That's amazing to me that it could handle such crowds. I wonder if it will be difficult to get reservations?

Thanks, Kim, I am getting shivers, I can hardly wait.

They said it would be done, and it is done. Wow. It seemed so completely impossible.

Kim, thanks so much for all the information and the links! I am so excited that I will get to visit Notre Dame again next year, and that I can introduce my grandchildren to it. Such a wonderful thing to happen!

Kim, thanks so much for posting this info. Very much looking forward to our next visit!

Thanks for gifting the article, Kim! I’m planning to go to Paris for the first time this April and I’m thrilled to have a chance to go inside of Notre-Dame!

Thanks so much for the intel.

We will be in Paris from the first week through mid January and are hoping to get tickets to get in.

Thanks, Kim, for the update. My daughter & I will be in Paris Dec. 7 thru the 10th (our first time ever in Paris) so hopefully we'll be able to get tickets for the tour.

I’m going to wait for the bru ha ha to die down. We will be there in spring of 2026. This is great news. We have watched several PBS shows on the restoration.

Here's pictures of the restoration https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/29/style/gallery/photos-notre-dame-restoration-intl/index.html

I caught Macron's tour of the cathedral "live" this morning on TV5Monde. Notre Dame looks amazing...

President Macron toured the restored Notre Dame yesterday. The whole tour was broadcasted live and can be viewed back here; https://www.youtube.com/live/Y6dce6D3B6Y?feature=shared
As you can at the start of the video, it wasn’t snowing or raining at all in Paris. The cathedral was shining in all her glory under a clear blue sky.

Yesterday was gorgeous. I was struck by how lucky they were that the sky was so blue and the light was so beautiful for President Macron's final pre-opening visit. Several French channels showed 2 to 3 hours of live coverage, including with drones showing aerial shots. It was quite something to behold.

I would note as well that while last week, the Notre Dame website said that the reservations part of the website would open December 1, it now says the online reservation system will open Monday, December 3rd.

https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/reopening/octave-reopening/visitor-reception/

Also, please remember — even once the reservations system opens, they plan that you can only reserve for the following day, or the day after that. You will not be able to go in and reserve for a visit in a few weeks or months.

Here is the schedule for the masses that first week. Note that for that first week, the 10:30 am masses will be open only to those with an invitation card. I am guessing none of us have the connections to get one of those !

https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/reopening/octave-reopening/mass-schedule/

And here are details about goings-on during the “Octave of Re-Opening” (December 8-15)

https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/reopening/octave-reopening/

Hi Nigel

And I responded on my other page.

For me 40 F is cold but not if you live in Paris. In fact when I was researching Paris weather, i think that I saw it would be in the 60's F for highs in May which is cool for me. I was surprised. i expected it to be more like in the 70's.

I am learning.

Right now, it is in the 40's in Austin and we consider that cold. it will be going up to the 60's F today and I will take a walk on the greenbelt which some call the hike and bike trail.

I do not. know why i thought that it was raining or snowing yesterday. Perhaps I was channel surfing and got Paris weather mixed up with weather somewhere in the United States.

I do not even know what i was watching but I was watching something about the reopening of Notre Dame. I thought that it was a grand reopening for all and only later realized that it was the very beginning of festivities for VIP's. I am glad that yesterday was. a beautiful day for everyone in Paris and France.

Maybe a sign of things to come. C'est La Vie.

Dutch_traveler

I was watching something about the renovation of Notre Dame which was included in another program. Perhaps I channel surfed or perhaps the next story was about snow / rain elsewhere.

I realized my mistake later on when I did some research and this morning came back to delete my post only to find that others had corrected me so I am leaving it up.

I am learning.

Restored Notre Dame: WOW! Look up the 60 Minutes segment on the restoration. I recall it as a fairly dank, muted, albeit beautiful cathedral. The restored version, faithful to the original appearance they say, is almost Disney-level bright in its colors and appearance.

Restored Notre Dame: WOW! Look up the 60 Minutes segment on the restoration. I recall it as a fairly dank, muted, albeit beautiful cathedral. The restored version, faithful to the original appearance they say, is almost Disney-level bright in its colors and appearance.

We just watched the 60 Minutes segment, the interior is spectacular. What an incredible job they have done.

I also watched the 60 minutes segment. The restored Notre Dame is magnificent.

I had already heard a few days back, on CNN, a discussion about how beautiful the restoration was so I was not surprised.

I never saw Notre Dame pre fire so I have nothing to compare the restoration with. Some persons are possibly going to see the restored Notre Dame as a miracle.

The website today says that

The reservation system FOR THE INAUGURAL WEEK -- that is, Dec 8-15 -- will open the morning of December 3rd.

The reservation system to visit the Cathedral on your own will open Saturday, December 7 (first visits on Monday, December 9, at 3:30 pm and later).

Remember, the system will only open each day for the next day and the day after that.

We will see how things go once they open it up.

I recorded the 60 Minutes show yesterday on my DVR. Now I can watch it several times. The before and after comparisons are stunning! I looked at my collection of pics from my visits in 2012 and 2018, but there are none of the nave. I have a few showing the columns, rose window, main altar and parts of the ceiling. Even the comparison of those few with the broadcast photos are hard to believe. It may be a few years before I get back to Paris. I can hardly wait. Hopefully, the reservation system will allow more advanced planning then. The restoration and fire fighting teams should be very proud of their contribution, especially with all the challenging issues.

I can remember well the discussion how to restore Notre Dame soon after the fire 5 years ago. Architects and artisans from all over the world got the opportunity to show their ideas how Notre Dame should look after restoration. Was really hoping nothing of those (some very extravagant, like a rooftop swimming pool) plans was going to be realized. Even it looks clinically clean inside, happy with this result.

Fun to read back one of the discussions, our thoughts and worries we had here on the forum at the time. The OP started with remarking that Notre Dame was quite dark inside, and the hope finding a way to make it lighter........:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/how-should-notre-dame-be-restored

So interesting Wil! How funny that the darkness was exactly what was mentioned - now it looks oddly bright !

link is now open to sign up to attend a mass between Dec 8 and 15

https://www.notredamedeparis.fr/en/

You are wonderful to do this, Kim. So helpful but your postings also look so good

We will be in Paris September 2025 and are looking for private guide for interior of Notre dame with expertise in its history and reconstruction
Thanks

Merci, Kim, for all this information. I have been watching the various USA news program coverage of Macron's visit and have been brought to tears by the absolute brilliance of the restoration. I so want to see next year. It was always quite dark inside and now everything shines and sparkles. What a magnificent job the companions have done.

Hi! I'm new here, and I couldn't find a way to reply to individual comments, so apologies in advance if this reply goes out to everyone on this thread.

@ Cynthia:

"Are there any plans to allow access to the towers?"

The bell towers are currently still closed to visitors, but are estimated to open sometime this summer (2025). The exact day is still TBC. Although the restoration work in the north tower has been more publicized than the work in the south tower, it was discovered that the belfry (the wooden structure that contains the bells) in the south tower had sustained more damage than expected. The damage needs to be fixed in the south belfry before the bell towers can reopen to the public. In addition, the Centre des monuments nationaux (Centre of National Monuments), is designing a new visitor route, which can’t be completed until the repairs and the carpentry work in the south belfry is completed.

Advanced reservations will be required, and there will be an entrance fee (this is no different from how it was before the fire), but no details have been announced yet. As of now, tour groups will not be allowed to visit the bell towers, due to the limited amount of space and to keep the flow of visitors moving smoothly. A maximum of 100 visitors will be allowed to visit the bell towers at a time.

The direction of the visitor route through the bell towers will be reversed from what it was before the fire. The plan for the new visitor route is:

• Enter through the south tower (the right side of the cathedral).
• Visit a room that's newly open to the public on the "first level" (the level between the Gallery of Kings and the Gallery of Chimeras) that will have exhibitions showcasing the cathedral’s history, key dates of its construction, major historical events, etc. The exact details about the exhibition(s) are still TBC.
• A new wooden staircase is being built that will go from the level of the new exhibition room, to the level of the Gallery of Chimeras. This staircase will be one of the most impressive elements of the restoration in the bell towers! It’s a “double-helix staircase”, which has two separate spirals that intertwine, allowing one side for walking up and the other side for walking down. People going opposite directions won’t run into each other, but can see each other through the middle!
• Visit the Gallery of Chimeras.
• Climb inside the south belfry and see the two bells, Emmanuel and Marie.
• Climb the stairs to the terrace at the very top of the south tower.
• Climb down to the terrace between the south and north tower (this is new, this area was not open to the public before the fire). There will be a viewing area to see inside the newly rebuilt "Forest", the wooden framework of the roof!
• Walk over to the north tower.
• The north tower/the bells in the north tower will be functioning, so this area will likely stay closed to the public. There may be a few things to see at a distance, but that’s still TBC.
• On the descent, there will be a gift shop. It’s still TBC if the gift shop will remain in the same room it was before the fire, or if it will be moved to a new location.
• Exit out of the north tower (the left side of the cathedral).

@ tonywolff1

"We will be in Paris September 2025 and are looking for private guide for interior of Notre dame with expertise in its history and reconstruction"

I'm originally from Canada and I moved to Paris specifically for Notre Dame and to, quite literally, pursue a career as an expert in all things Notre Dame - or, as I like to joke, “a professional fangirl”. I'm a self-employed tour guide giving private tours that focus on the cathedral's architectural history, the restoration and its role in art, media and literature.

There's truly nothing I love doing more than sharing my love and knowledge of all things Notre Dame. I'd be more than happy to help if you have any questions about visiting Notre Dame!