Notre-Dame de Paris — Tours & Visitor Guide
Freshly restored and radiant after five years of work, Notre-Dame de Paris reopened in December 2024. Discover the Gothic cathedral’s soaring nave, luminous rose windows, Bell Towers, and sacred Treasury — all at the heart of Île de la Cité. Cathedral entry is always free.
Top Notre-Dame Tours
Guided tours, Bell Tower tickets, Île de la Cité combos — all the main ways to experience Notre-Dame.
Interior & Exterior Guided Tour
- Certified licensed guide — max 5 guests
- Covers Gothic façade & full restored interior
- Rose windows, ribbed vaults & sacred relics
- Most intimate guided experience available
Notre-Dame Exterior Tour
- Expert-guided west façade & flying buttresses
- Gallery of Kings & rebuilt spire
- Optional independent interior access after
- Groups of up to 20 — best entry-level guided tour
Notre-Dame Small Group Guided Tour
- Expert licensed guide — max 10 guests
- Covers Gothic exterior & restored interior
- Intimate pace — room to ask questions
- More personal than a standard group tour
Private Tour – The Restored Masterpiece
- Exclusively your group — certified expert guide
- Fully flexible pace & depth of exploration
- Interior & exterior — no other participants
- Ideal for couples, families & architecture fans
Notre-Dame + Sainte-Chapelle & Crypt
- Guided Notre-Dame exterior + Île de la Cité
- Optional entry: Sainte-Chapelle & the Crypt
- Includes Shakespeare & Company & hidden gems
- Up to 15 participants
Notre-Dame, Sainte-Chapelle & Conciergerie
- Three Île de la Cité landmarks in one booking
- Pre-reserved entry to Sainte-Chapelle & Conciergerie
- Skip ticket queues at all three sites
- Expert guide throughout
Planning Your Visit to Notre-Dame
Everything you need to know before you go.
Opening Hours of Notre-Dame
Open daily — Mon–Fri 7:50am to 7pm (until 10pm Thursdays); weekends 8:15am to 7:30pm. Last entry 30 minutes before closing. Entry is always free.
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Best Time to Visit Notre-Dame
Before 9:30am on weekdays or Thursday evenings from 7pm are the quietest windows. A free timed reservation (opens 2–3 days ahead) skips the 2–3 hour peak-season queue.
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Getting to Notre-Dame Paris
Metro Cité (line 4), 3-minute walk. RER Saint-Michel–Notre-Dame (lines B & C), 5 minutes. Direct RER B from Charles de Gaulle Airport in approximately 40 minutes.
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Notre-Dame Reservation System
Cathedral entry is free but a reservation is strongly recommended April–October. Timed slots open on the official Notre-Dame website 2–3 days before your visit date.
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Notre-Dame Dress Code
Shoulders and knees must be covered for all visitors. Men remove hats inside. Non-compliant visitors will be turned away. A lightweight scarf solves the requirement in summer.
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Notre-Dame Official Website
Cathedral entry is free — no paid ticket needed. The official reservation platform (resa.notredamedeparis.fr) opens 2–3 days before your visit. Guided tours bypass this window entirely.
Know more →Things to Know Before You Visit
Practical tips to make the most of your Notre-Dame visit.
What to See at Notre-Dame
The cathedral’s most remarkable highlights — inside, outside, and above.
The Three Rose Windows
North (1250), South (1260), and West (1225) — three of the finest examples of 13th-century stained glass in existence. All three survived the 2019 fire. Morning light floods the eastern windows, casting vivid colour across the nave floor.
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Notre Dame Bell Towers
424 steps to face-to-face chimère encounters and 360° panoramic views from 69 metres. Reopened September 2025 with the world’s largest wooden double-helix staircase. €16 adults; free under-18s. Book online only.
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Notre Dame Great Organ
7,952 pipes — the largest organ in France. Fully restored after the 2019 fire, it sounds again at Mass and at the free Sunday recitals (4pm). Visible at the west end of the nave above the main entrance.
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The Treasury
The Crown of Thorns, the Holy Nail, medieval vestments, and eight centuries of gold reliquaries. €12 on-site. The Crown is displayed for public veneration on the first Friday of each month, 3–5pm.
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Notre Dame Architecture
Notre-Dame pioneered flying buttresses on this scale — enabling taller walls and larger windows than any previous Gothic cathedral. The gargoyles serve as waterspouts; the chimères above are purely decorative Gothic fantasy.
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New Stained Glass Windows
Six contemporary windows by artist Claire Tabouret planned for installation in the south nave chapels in December 2026. The most significant change to Notre-Dame’s interior since the 19th century.
Know more →Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about visiting Notre-Dame Cathedral.