Notre Dame & St. Chapelle

Hi! What month, and on what day of the week are you planning to visit?

For Notre Dame,

• Monday to Friday, time slots are generally offered between 9:00am and 10:45am and between 1:00pm and 4:15pm. On Thursday, additional time slots are generally offered between 7:00pm and 9:00pm.
• On Saturday, time slots are generally offered between 9:30am and 10:45am and between 1:00pm and 4:00pm.
• On Sunday, time slots are generally offered between 1:30pm and 4:00pm.

Please note that not every time slot will be offered every day, and no time slots are offered during Mass times. Which time slots get released/are available for each day is all dependent on what's happening at Notre Dame on that day.

Visitors are still allowed to enter outside of the hours that time slots are offered, and during Mass times, by waiting in the "Access without reservations" queue, which is on the left side of Notre Dame (if you're facing it), and is marked by blue signage/banners.

If you're visiting near the end of the day, I recommend entering at least 1 hour before closing time, so that your visit isn't rushed! Everyone has be out before closing time and the ambulatory (the back half of the cathedral) and the back chapels close 30 minutes before closing time, and we start clearing people out the building approximately 20 minutes before closing time.

If you're available on a Thursday evening, I recommend visiting Notre Dame between 8:00pm and 9:00pm (the ideal time to visit is around 8:30pm/8:45pm). This is generally a more peaceful time to visit! Notre Dame is open until 10:00pm on Thursday (but everyone has to be out before 10:00pm and the ambulatory (the back half of the cathedral) and the back chapels close at 9:30pm, and we start clearing people out the building around 9:40pm, so I recommend entering at least by 9:00pm).

For Sainte-Chapelle,

I typically recommend to people to plan for at least 2 hours to visit, just in case getting in takes longer than expected, and so that you're not stressed/rushing between whatever you have planned before/after. Sainte-Chapelle is within the perimeter of the Palace of Justice, which includes the courthouse/the supreme court for criminal and civil cases, so in comparison to other monuments, security is much tighter and the entrance process takes much longer (ie. think "airport security"). You'll need to arrive in the queue at least 30-45 minutes ahead of your reserved time slot, and the wait time could be 1 hour (or even longer on a really busy day).

Thank you to Emily for a very helpful reply. To follow up: We hope to visit both cathedrals on September 3. Perhaps it is unwise to try to do both in one afternoon. Can we expect that crowds will die down a bit by then?

It seems as if it would be a risk to purchase St. Chapelle tickets in advance for anytime that afternoon since we won't know till September 1 when we will be able to get into Notre Dame. On the other hand, do we risk not being able to get into St. Chapelle at all if we don't buy tickets in advance?

Any advice will be appreciated.

Sainte-Chapelle is not a cathedral, it is a chapel. Do a bit of reading on its history before visiting so you'll appreciate your visit better.

Definitely book Sainte-Chapelle in advance. You can always visit Notre Dame afterwards without a reservation. The line for visitors without a reservation at Notre Dame moves quicker than you would expect.

For the best experience with the fewest crowds a morning visit would be best.

I agree with jeanm that a morning visit to Sainte Chapelle would be better if you can do that. We visited at 9:30 and the lines were not too bad. Whenever we passed by there in the afternoon, it seemed like the lines were much longer. Not sure if more people booked for the afternoon, or if people lingered and so those waiting in line were admitted more slowly. This was in early June for reference.

Yes, book Ste. Chappelle, a.m. if possible. Check emilyofnotredame's entries here for good advice on seeing Notre Dame.

Bonne chance!

As a single data point, last week (after the funeral of Cardinal Vingt-Trois, which
seemed to mean that there were no advance tickets that afternoon), the line
stretched across the plaza and across the bridge onto Quai de Monticello). But
we were inside the cathedral within about 20 minutes.

As noted, if you can plan your visit for Thursday, you can plan to go to Notre Dame
later and should have no problem getting in.

Also note that there are for-profit concerts at St Chapelle most nights and concerts
at Notre Dame on Tuesday evenings + free organ concerts on Sundays, so there are
additional ways to get in to see the places.