Visiting hours, registration and events after Notre Dame Cathedral reopens are what visitors need to know when visiting this structure.
Notre Dame Cathedral, one of Paris' most popular tourist attractions, reopened to the public on Friday evening after more than five years of restoration following a fire. The cathedral will host a week of events before reopening as normal. French tourism officials expect about 40,000 visitors a day, nearly double the number who visit the Palace of Versailles.
If you intend to visit this place in the near future, visitors should note information about the time, activities and transportation to the church.
Register online
Visitors are free to enter the church. However, it can be crowded and wait times can be long, especially in the first few months. To reduce waiting times, visitors are advised to register online in advance on the church’s official website.
Kate Schwab, a spokeswoman for the French Tourism Agency, said visitors can register for the tour starting today or two days in advance. The first tours start on December 9.
To enter the Cathedral Museum, visitors must buy a ticket for 10 euros (about 260,000 VND). Tickets are sold on site or online.
Visitors can also sign up for guided tours outside with the volunteer organization CASA. Group tours inside the cathedral (for a fee) will reopen in early 2025.
Note special activities
The cathedral will host events to mark the reopening from now until December 15, including an official inauguration ceremony attended by many world leaders. Large screens will be set up around the cathedral for the public to watch the ceremony.
The cathedral also hosts special concerts featuring 20 international artists, 15 guest orchestras and choirs, and 12 major organ recitals through 2025.
From now until December 15, the Church will be closed during certain event hours. From December 16, it will be open normally from 7:45 am to 7:00 pm.
Best time to visit
Paris is a year-round tourist destination and Notre Dame Cathedral is no exception. It can accommodate 2,500 people at a time.
Schwab recommends visiting early in the morning when the church is first opened or late in the day. Those are the two quietest times. Seasonally, the busiest times are summer (July and August) and holidays.
In case of overcrowding, visitors can still admire the church from the outside, as many have done for the past five years.
New at Notre Dame Cathedral
A completely new roof, interiors and some areas have been completely restored. Notre Dame de Paris has undergone a historic restoration that took five years. The interior is said to be "more magnificent than before the disaster". The work involved around 2,000 architects, engineers and craftsmen.
The 96-meter-high tower that collapsed in the fire has been replaced by a new, meticulously restored original tower. The elaborate decoration required special techniques. The roof beams are also completely new.
If you've been to the church before, you may notice a small but significant change to the way traffic flows inside the church. Visitors will follow a single stream, "basically from left to right," Schwab said.
Renovations are still in progress.
Work is still being completed on some of the pillars, stained glass windows and surrounding areas, including the adjacent park.
The Paris tourist office said parts of the cathedral, including the nave and sacristy, are expected to continue restoration next year. The stained glass windows are due to be completed in 2026.
French tourism officials said the work around the cathedral - which includes an empty lot - would include planting more trees and building an underground car park. These works will take about three years.
The bells of Notre Dame Cathedral are still ringing. Some new bells have been added.
Moving to the Church
By subway
Cité or Saint-Michel Station (line 4)
Hôtel de Ville Station (line 1 or 11)
La Sorbonne or Maubert-Mutualité Station (line 10)
By train to the suburbs
Saint-Michel l – Notre-Dame Station (line B)
Saint-Michel l – Notre-Dame Station (line C)
Notre-Dame car park, Place du Parvis Notre-Dame, accessible via Rue de la Cité.
HQ (according to VnExpress)