Forum member Lynn from Western Washington found this Reddit thread that is absolutely chock-full of detailed information on how to visit Notre Dame with the new reservation system — what time to get online, how many tickets you can get, etc.
She shared it as a response to another Forum member's question, but it is so helpful that I thought it would be great to give it its own “home.”
Thanks again to Lynn for finding this wonderful resource !!
I will just add one note to the author's info about the reservations system opening up at midnight Paris time (although she says that there are some problems this weekend).
I have been checking the reservations when I get up at 5 am or 6 am (cats! ), and consistently every morning when I look at that time, it offers me tickets for that very same morning — 9 am, 9:30 am, sometimes up to 10 am). So that is another thing to keep in mind. If you don't have an office job preventing you from snagging one of those same-morning reservations, it might be “just the ticket” for you!
Thanks to Kim and Lynn!
I follow Adventures with Sarah and she has been saying that it seems to work to go before opening (9?) and wait in a line that moves fairly quickly. I believe she said 15 minutes. Yet, when possible, I'd opt for a ticket if obtainable.
Over the past 2 days, I've been noticing same day tickets being released every 30 minutes in the morning. For example 5 am Paris time, tickets are released for a 9 am time slot. 5:30 am Paris time, 9:30 am time slot, 6:00 am Paris time, 10:00 am time slot. I wouldn't count on this being the pattern all day, but if one doesn't get a ticket ahead of time, perhaps have another shot at it if you get up early in the morning.
I'm taking my first trip to Paris in February and very much want to see Notre Dame, so have been trying to figure it out ahead of time.
And a side note, while waiting in the queue, if the site doesn't automatically refresh, manually refresh. That has been glitching.
Thank you, all, for such great information. We plan to go in March 2025. We are staying in London and taking the Eurostar to Paris, probably on Wednesday, 3/26, but maybe we will change that to Thursday, 3/27, since Notre Dame is open later and we will have a better chance of getting in. I truly appreciate all your kind help. Happy New Year and may we all get to see this miraculous cathedral.
Hi! I'm Emily and I came across this forum and I wanted to introduce myself because I'm the author of this Reddit post. I'm glad to hear that it's been helpful!
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”.
At the time of this forum post, yes, there were issues with the reservation system. But luckily, it seems to be working more smoothly now, than when it was first launched! The auto-refresh functionality is working again, the wait time in the virtual "waiting room"/queue to enter the system has reduced significantly, and openings for new time slots are more evenly dispersed!
And yes, new/additional "same day" time slots are released 4 hours in advance. For example: At 5:00am (Paris time), new time slots are released for 9:00am for that same day. At 5:30am, new time slots are released for 9:30am, etc. However, there are certain hours when no time slots are ever offered, therefore no new time slots are released 4 hours in advance of those hours. For example: No time slots are offered at 12:00pm, therefore no new time slots will be released at 8:00am. The availability of these time is still subject to the current available capacity inside the cathedral.
Thanks for chiming in, Emily. Very helpful and you will be a great resource in the future. How did you initially become so captivated by Notre Dame?
Thanks Emily, I’ve bookmarked your info for our visit this spring. I really appreciate the time you’ve spent putting all this info together..
@Lyndash
Thanks for chiming in, Emily. Very helpful and you will be a great resource in the future. How did you initially become so captivated by Notre Dame?
You're welcome! Oh boy, it's a bit of a long story, but I I'll try to make it short (well, short-ish, haha).
I first learned about Notre Dame around 2003 while I was in elementary school. There was a curriculum about Medieval Times and you had to do a final report on a chosen topic from a list. I chose to do my report on "Stained Glass in Gothic Cathedrals". I still have no idea why, because at that point, I'd never heard of any Gothic cathedrals! I didn't keep many school projects over the years, but for whatever reason, I kept that one and I'm glad I did because I had a complete full circle moment earlier this year. While packing to move to Paris, I dug up this old report and brought it with me. I've been fortunate to make personal connections with the craftsmen, artisan and scientific research teams who worked on/are working on the restoration - one of those teams being the team working on the stained glass windows. While attending one of their conferences, I got to tell them this story and team signed the report.
Then around 2006, I was introduced to Victor Hugo’s novel “Notre Dame de Paris” in French class (or “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, as its known in English) - quickly followed by the popular French musical adaptation by Riccardo Cocciante & Luc Plamondon.
Since then, I've spent my life immersed in every Notre Dame/Hunchback of Notre Dame related thing imaginable - you name it and I've more than likely seen it, done it, know it, or own it!
@ncangelose
Thanks Emily, I’ve bookmarked your info for our visit this spring. I really appreciate the time you’ve spent putting all this info together.
You're welcome! I hope you get to visit Notre Dame when you're here in the spring!!
I follow Adventures with Sarah and she has been saying that it seems to work to go before opening (9?) and wait in a line that moves fairly quickly. I believe she said 15 minutes. Yet, when possible, I'd opt for a ticket if obtainable.
Hi. I travelled with Adventures with Sarah for her Paris Christmas tour starting Dec. 15, 2024. We visited Notre Dame spur of the moment on Monday, Dec. 16 around 9AM. There was maybe a 15 minute line that moved quickly and did not require tickets of any kind. On Thursday, Dec. 19, I visited again on my own around 8:30 AM with no line whatsoever and no tickets needed. There were personnel by the doors, but not checking tickets, just kind of keeping an eye on things. On the Thursday morning, the interior was very empty. Both days, it was easy to sit if desired.
Hi all! I am trying to figure out if there is a way to get tickets in advance more than the day of? I am hoping to go the Notre Dam mid March and am not seeing any option to get tickets any more than 2 days in advance. Is there some way to do that, or a different process I may not be aware of? Thanks so much!
Nope
I have read that the early rush that required tickets and planning is over and that we can just drop by and line up and go in now.
Hi all! I am trying to figure out if there is a way to get tickets in advance more than the day of? I am hoping to go the Notre Dam mid March and am not seeing any option to get tickets any more than 2 days in advance. Is there some way to do that, or a different process I may not be aware of? Thanks so much!
Hi pamlpetersen!
As of now, no.
(The reason why time slots for Notre Dame are only released up to 2 days in advance is because it makes it easier to manage capacity - both forecasted, and in real-time. They want to minimize the amount of people who book time slots, but then not use them. The farther in advance time slots are released, the higher chance that people will do this (ie. due to last minute changes to plans, forgetting, etc) - and since time slots/tickets are free, it's easier for people to just not show up since they won't be out any $, but this make it challenging to manage capacity, staffing needs, etc, as well as to make improvements to the visitor flow!)
I have read that the early rush that required tickets and planning is over and that we can just drop by and line up and go in now.
Hi janettravels44!
Currently, visiting Notre Dame without reserving a time slot in advance is doable without a long wait on most days. We're in the off-season and generally speaking, the crowds have been lower since the second week of January. The crowds will likely stay lower until mid-March. However, there's still some days during the off-season when the wait time can be longer (on days with nice weather, on weekends and holidays, etc). It will likely be busier between February 15th-24th, when there is overlap between Winter Breaks of the 4 school "zones"/regions in France (and this is when the schools in the Paris "zone"/region are on break).
Once it hits mid-March and Spring Break season starts, the crowds will start increasing. Crowds will continue to increase during Easter (one of the busiest times of the year at Notre Dame), and as the weather gets warmer, as tourism pick ups, then with Summer Holidays, etc.
For those visiting between mid-March and end of October (& mid-December to mid-January 2026), I would very strongly recommend reserving a time slot in advance, especially if visiting Notre Dame is super important to you, or else you could be waiting up to 3 hours, with the risk that you won't be allowed to enter. Notre Dame has a very strict capacity limit, and those without reservations are the lowest priority, and are not guaranteed entrance.
Good point -- we will be there in April and May and if there are long lines, we will reserve.
I have to say, even with the "restricted" entries, there are still a heck of a lot of people in there at any one time, and it is not a very nice experience.
Good point -- we will be there in April and May and if there are long lines, we will reserve.
@ janettravels44,
The wait time varies significantly, between no wait time and up to 3 hours. It all depends on the combination of a variety of factors such as: the season, the day of the week, the time of day, and if there's any liturgical services happening at that time.
On most days between the reopening in December and mid-January, the crowds were huge. As in, you couldn't see the ground of the Parvis! (the square in front of Notre Dame). During this time, the wait time was up to 45 minutes even with a reservation and up to 3 hours without a reservation.
This is the first full year that Notre Dame has been/will be open since the reopening and no one can predict the exact wait time, but based on patterns (I'm at Notre Dame almost everyday), I'm guessing that late-Spring and Summer will get the same volume of crowds, and maybe even higher from June-August. I figure that if Notre Dame is really important to visit, it's better to have reservations and get in quicker than expected, rather than chance it and having to end up waiting for hours or not getting to visit at all. I hope you do get to visit while you're herein Paris!
I have to say, even with the "restricted" entries, there are still a heck of a lot of people in there at any one time, and it is not a very nice experience.
@Kim,
Even as someone who loves Notre Dame, who's entire life is Notre Dame, and who's at Notre Dame most days...I agree that it can sometimes get uncomfortably crowded!
For those wanting to beat the crowds...typicaly, the crowds are lower before 9:30am, after 4:00pm (and/or after 7:00pm on Thursdays when Notre Dame is open late) and anytime when it's raining. For those who are visiting during those times (and any other times during Mass), please note that while Mass (and other liturgical services) are happening, the front section of the Nave (the centre) and the crossing of the Transept are closed to visitors. Mass is typically between 40-45 minutes on ordinary days, and between 1-1.5 hours on liturgical holidays/for special celebrations.
