Will You Return to Notre Dame?

I am going back to Paris, for the 9th time, and will definitely be going to Notre Dame. We are spending a month there later in 2025 and we will be able to hear the bells from our rental apartment.

I will be in Paris in September 2025 for the fifth time (my first time since September 2019). Visiting Notre Dame is at the top of my list.

I’m going to Paris in June ….absolutely

absolutely - no question.

Most definitely. But I won't be going ONLY because of Notre Dame.

I have been to Paris many times. Last year I was there for a short visit. I didn't think I would return. However, now I've seen how splendidly it has been restored, I feel I have to go if only for a long week-end from London,

I will be spending a very short time in Paris next March and I very much hope I can arrange to go inside Notre Dame. I have been to Paris many times, but only visited inside the cathedral once on my first trip (1996). I had planned to return during my June, 2019 trip, but alas...

Really looking forward to returning.

No plans to return. Just happy I was able to see it and enjoy it pre-fire.

I’m a regular Paris visitor. I was in Notre Dame for a Veneration of the Crown of Thorns service about 2 weeks before the fire. It will be at the top of my list when I go back next Fall. I am not at all religious but there is something about this cathedral that captures me.

Absolutely. As a francophone/francophile I consider it my duty. And I cannot wait. The ceremony today was so poignant.

I was in Paris in spring 2018 and attended the Crown of Thorns veneration while there. I had an aisle seat and the priest tripped on his robe nearly allowing the COT to land in my lap! From the fire photos, it appears that my aisle seat was under a huge pile of rubble.

Yes, I will be going again in the near future.

I don't have any trips to Paris planned at the moment but when I go back, I most definitely want to see Notre Dame again! The restoration is incredible and it's even more beautiful than before. I imagine it's going to be VERY popular for the next few years, so it may be difficult to even get near it.

I was there last week before it opened. I'll go back again. There's way too much to see and do around Paris not to keep returning.

Yes, absolutely. It’s penciled in for 2026. Hope the bruh ha has died down a bit.

I'll be in Paris January 2-9 this coming year. Absolutely going to ND. It's an homage every time I go to Paris. I want to see the brightness that everyone on the Forum is talking about. In the past, ND was dark. I'm not sure if I'll need tickets that close to the opening--hoping, not. I've never climbed the tower but would love to do so.

I'm heading to Paris in early April with two of my grandkids, and will love being able to show the newly restored Notre Dame to them! I can't say that's the only reason, but certainly one reason I decided to head over from London (which will be our main focus this trip).

I didn't think we ever would, not having emotionally connected with Paris, but DH looked at the pics and said he needs to go back.

Not like him.

I'm not sure if I'll need tickets that close to the opening--

From everything I have seen, the reservation requirement is a permanent change. So tickets/reservations will always be required from now on.

And the really tricky part right now being that the tickets are only open for the next day and the day after - so one can, I imagine, never be sure whether one is going to get a ticket during one's time in Paris, unfortunately. I worry there are going to be a lot of disappointed people.

For anyone interested in getting tickets to Notre Dame, this is the website that I will be using:
https://resa.notredamedeparis.fr/en/reservationindividuelle/tickets

No plans right now, but I absolutely want to see it again. We often fly through Paris, so the next time we do that, I’ll make sure to fit it in.

We were in Paris in April; and sat in the bleachers that were set up outside for observation/contemplation/reflection. Look forward to returning to Paris. We've been inside Notre Dame during past visits and look forward to returning to see the restoration.

Thanks!

Given that all travel books are now out of date regarding Notre Dame access, I hope that we'll get some fresh trip reports the include how to get in.

Lindy has posted the link above, and I have explained in st least three threads about the reservation system that has been put in place - one can use the link or the Notre Dame app. Visiting slots will only be available for the next day or the day after, but presumably they are going to go fast.

Here's the thread I started almost a month ago explaining the reservation process and providing the links

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/notre-dame-re-opening-and-first-visits

@Kim, Thank you. What has been your experience using the new system and visiting Notre Dame? For example, if you failed to get a reservation and tried the no reservation line. Did you get in?

Not trying to be rude here. It's just that sometimes new systems work as designed and other times they don't. I am curious to hear about the experiences of those who use the new system.

I was there a few weeks before it burned. I would go back. I would want to see it new and shiny. So many places are seen in the present even though they are hundreds of years old, what is it to see when new?
We walk through ruins in Italy and Greece. Stones piled and imagination at work. Imagine when they were new. Maybe Roman Baths with mosaics, new. Built and as when they were used, not centuries later, faint and broken.
That is the new Norte Dame. As when it was first built.

I've been lucky enough to get to Paris 8 or 9 times over the last 32 years and definitely plan on going back to Notre Dame, as I've never seen it looking so beautiful.

Some tour operators are offering tours. Get your guide has dates listed. Not sure how they get tickets. I reserved two for September and payment is not due until a few days before. I’ll be traveling two days prior so I’d be unable to get tickets. Time will tell if I indeed get to see it.

I will likely stop by in early March, as I will be staying at my friend's pied-a-terre that is located on the adjacent isle.

if you failed to get a reservation and tried the no reservation line. Did you get in?

As of yesterday they weren't get able to let people in from the non-ticketed line. In fact they were yelling from bullhorns to tell people without tickets to go ahead and go home. This is from press reporting. I have a job to go to so haven't been able to hang around the parvis in hopes of getting in.

I think we will get a better idea of how things will work next week. This first week, the "octave" of reopening, there are just too many scheduled events and masses and too short of visiting hours to be able to have a good sense.

As of Monday December 16, the cathedral will be open for much longer hours, enabling significantly more visits. We'll see how things go these next couple of weeks after Monday 12/16.

@Diane, that is wild that tour operators are offering tickets for something they can't even obtain yet. I would certainly hope they are not demanding payment yet.

I looked at the Notre Dame guided tour offers on Get Your Guide, there is actually one for €39 (displayed as "New activity") but which turns into €139 when you select it.

As Get your guide is only a reseller, it is mentioned that this tour is organized by Adventour.

What is strange is that on the Adventour website no guided tour of Notre Dame is offered.

https://en.adventourparis.com/

All other information I have found so far about guided tours (not free individual entries) by looking on the usual official Paris websites and in the latest news says that guided tours will resume in June 2025.

I plan on being in Paris for 36 nights in May/Jun 2026. So, yes I definitely will return. Seeing it on TV so bright and clean on the inside its like being in a different church.

I’m planning a trip to see Notre Dame in January 2025. Can anyone please recommend a private tour guide or a small group guide? Thank you.

Have been to Paris three times, the first two included a visit to Notre Dame, the third time was shortly after the fire, so that was interesting.

Go back? I have no plans to, while I enjoy art, I have been to most of the museums a couple times already, done the other common things, and I am probably an odd duck on this thread, in that I really have no great love for Paris, it is just...meh. I find the lifestyle, culture, and food in other parts of Europe much more interesting.

But, I have to admit, the one thing I would like to see is the restored cathedral, so who knows, maybe a short visit, maybe a long layover, accomplish that and on my way.

Simple answer....yes !

I will be back in France by mid-May or the very latest last few days in May, landing in Paris CDG. I've set aside 14 days consecutively to relax and rest in Paris during which time l'll surely get out to Notre Dame t see, at least, the exterior. Most likely, as this is peak season, I expect lots of people, we shall see, doing exactly the same as I am.