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Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Churches & cathedrals ·Paris ·Open now
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#2Churches & cathedrals in France#2Churches & cathedrals in ParisTravelers' Choice Best of the Best 2026
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About

Notre-Dame de Paris is a medieval Catholic cathedral and basilica on the Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine in Paris’s 4th arrondissement. It is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris.

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Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

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What's on here

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Why go

  • Look up at the rebuilt wooden crossing spire, rising 93 metres.
  • See the rose windows, rib vaults and abundant sculpture of a leading example of French Gothic architecture.

Opening hours

Today08:15 – 07:30Show all
Monday07:50 – 19:00
Tuesday07:50 – 19:00
Wednesday07:50 – 19:00
Thursday07:50 – 19:00
Friday07:50 – 19:00
Saturday08:15 – 07:30
Sunday08:15 – 07:30

Don't miss

  • Flying buttressesThe flying buttresses carry roof weight outward, allowing higher walls and larger windows.Cathedral exterior
  • South transept portalPierre de Montreuil’s south transept portal depicts Saint Stephen and local saints.South transept exterior
  • The VisitationJean Jouvenet painted The Visitation, one of the cathedral’s 17th- and early 18th-century altarpieces.Cathedral
  • West façade kingsDuring the Revolution, 28 biblical king statues on the west façade were beheaded after being mistaken for French monarchs.West façade

Interesting facts4

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  1. 130 metres

    The nave measures 130 metres long, 48 metres wide and 35 metres high inside, and can accommodate up to 10,000 people.

    Kathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia
  2. 8,000 pipes

    The cathedral has three pipe organs. Its 18th-century Great Organ, built by François Thierry, has more than 8,000 pipes.

    Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia (part 3)
  3. 69 metres

    The two west towers are made of natural stone and stand 69 metres tall.

    Kathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia

  4. The relic collection includes the Crown of Thorns and a sliver and nail from the True Cross.

    Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia

Shorts

History

A bishop’s palace stood beside the cathedral on the Seine from around 1165 until 1831. The cathedral has three pipe organs, including one historic organ, and immense bells.

  1. 4th or 5th c.A church dedicated to Saint Étienne stood near the royal palace on the site.
  2. Before the cathedralFour earlier religious buildings preceded it on the site.
  3. Around 1160Bishop Maurice de Sully commissioned a predecessor cathedral near the start of his episcopate.
  4. 1163–1260Construction of the present cathedral began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260.
  5. 1182The choir was consecrated.
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  1. Mid-13th c.The west towers were completed.
  2. RenaissanceTapestries covered the interior pillars and walls.
  3. 1548Huguenot rioters damaged some of the cathedral’s statues.
  4. 1625A fountain was added to the parvis to supply nearby Parisians with running water.
  5. 1708The custom of donating grands mays ended for financial reasons; 76 had been given by then.
  6. 1726Louis Antoine de Noailles renovated the roof framing and removed its gargoyles with lead gutters.
  7. 1756Medieval stained-glass windows, except the rose windows, were replaced with plain white panes.
  8. 1789–1794The cathedral was seized as public property and rededicated to revolutionary cults. Religious imagery was damaged or destroyed, and the building served as a food warehouse and for other non-religious purposes.
  9. 1801Under the Concordat, Napoleon restored the cathedral to the Catholic Church.
  10. 1802Napoléon I permitted liturgical use to resume.
  11. 1804Napoleon crowned himself Emperor at the cathedral.
  12. 1831–19th c.Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel helped spur restoration. Jean-Baptiste Lassus and Eugène Viollet-le-Duc were appointed. Their work largely shaped today’s appearance and added a taller, more ornate, lead-clad wooden spire.
  13. 1905Under the law separating church and state, the cathedral became state property. The French government owns it and is responsible for its maintenance.
  14. 1944Stray bullets damaged the cathedral during the Liberation of Paris. Some medieval glass was replaced with modern abstract designs. On 26 August, a Magnificat was sung there.
  15. 1963The façade was cleaned for the cathedral’s 800th anniversary, restoring its off-white colour.
  16. 1969A fire brigade sergeant retrieved a North Vietnamese flag from the spire by helicopter after vandals sabotaged its stairway.
  17. 1971Philippe Petit crossed a tightrope between the bell towers on 26 June.
  18. 1980Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass on the parvis on 30 May.
  19. 1991–1999A decade-long renovation replaced much of the eroded exterior stonework; the west face was restored by December 1999.
  20. 2012A year-long celebration of the cathedral’s 850th anniversary began on 12 December.
  21. 2013Four 19th-century bells in the northern towers were recast in bronze to echo the 17th-century sound.
  22. 2018Spire renovation began, and copper roof statues were temporarily removed.
  23. 15 April 2019Fire destroyed the crossing spire and the roof over the nave, choir and transept. The spire collapsed first, bringing down 750 tonnes of stone and lead. The Great Organ survived but suffered water damage. The cathedral closed for repairs, and no Christmas Mass was held that year—the first such absence in more than 200 years.
  24. 2020A decision was made to rebuild destroyed or badly damaged parts to match their original form. In December, the first choir performance since the fire featured eight singers because of pandemic restrictions.
  25. 2021Selection of replacement oak trees for the spire reconstruction began in February. Safety work was declared complete in September.
  26. December 2024The cathedral reopened. The Crown of Thorns relic was returned on 13 December.

Sources: Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia · Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia (part 2) · Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia (part 3) · Paris/4th arrondissement - Wikivoyage (see) · Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia · Kathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris - Wikipedia · checked 24 Sep 2026

Where
6 Parvis Notre-Dame Place Jean-Paul II, Paris, 75004

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