Notre Dame Cathedral
- Address:6 Place du Parvis Notre Dame, Paris
- Hours:Mon - Fri 8am - 6:45pm; weekends 8am - 7:15pm
- Admission:Free
_d479-510.jpg)
8:50 PM Sunday, May 27
Clear. Pleasantly warm.
7 day forecast »
If Paris has a heart, then this is it. The cathedral of Notre Dame (Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris) is not only a masterpiece of French Gothic architecture, but has also been Catholic Paris' ceremonial focus for seven centuries. The cathedral's immense interior, a marvel of medieval engineering, holds over 6,000 people and has spectacular rose windows.
Although Notre Dame is regarded as a sublime architectural achievement, there are all sorts of minor anomalies, the result of centuries of aesthetic intervention. These include a trio of main entrances that are each shaped differently, and are accompanied by statues that were once coloured to make them more effective as Bible lessons for the masses. The interior is dominated by a 7,800-pipe organ that was restored but has not worked properly since.
Latest Reviews All Notre Dame Cathedral Reviews »
Notre Dame is amazing - we even went up to the bell tower. Was good to skip the line and have our own guide
Continue Reading »
Brilliant and informative and that was just Stephanie the local guide. We saw parts of Paris we would not had seen by ourselves. We had a very good drive around the different areas and stopped at the main attractions i.e. Notre dame, Sacre Coure . Montmarte was amazing.
Worth every penny! Will be recommending to friends and family.
This tour is really the best way to see a lot in a little bit of time. We were passing though Paris and only in town for a day. We saw all the highlights. There were 6 of us so we took up the entire small group tour with only 1 other couple with us, it was like a private tour. We jumped the que at the louve for all the important works of arts Mona Lisa, Venus,etc. The boat ride was more or a city shuttle making a few stops in between but still nice, however it was a glass in closed boat no fresh air and the river was a little bumpy so if you are prone to motion sickness take some dramamine and you'll be fine. Then we jumped the que at the effle tour and went straight to lunch which was the first floor of the Effle tower. There was not enough time to go all the up to the top since it was a Saturday the lines were crazy long, and was two more elevators rides up to the top but there was a small trinket shop on the same level as the restaurant which is probably 10 stories up. Then it was off to Norte Dame the only "free" no charge church I saw in all of Europe. It was beautiful but very crowded hence it is free. The tour ends there but we opted for some excellent hot cocoa directly across the river from Norta Dome and walked our way back to Gare de Lyon. Which as a side note- the hotel above had lockers to store our luggage in for the day while we were out.
Continue Reading »Practical Info
Notre Dame is located on the Ile de la Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine River. It is close to many of the main attractions of Paris and is easily reached by foot. Or catch the metro line 4 to Cité.
It's well worth the effort of climbing the 387 steps of the north tower. This will bring you to the top of the west facade and face to face with many of the cathedral's most frightening gargoyles, which enjoy a spectacular view of Paris.
