Notre-Dame Cathedral

Where it is & how to get there

• Metro: Line 4 to Cité or Saint-Michel, both a 5-minute walk.
• RER: RER B or C to Saint-Michel – Notre-Dame, just across the bridge.
• On foot: 15 minutes from the Louvre along the river, or 10 minutes from the Latin Quarter.

The story of Notre-Dame

Building started in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and took almost 200 years. Notre-Dame became a masterpiece of French Gothic, with flying buttresses, rose windows and gargoyles. Napoleon was crowned emperor here in 1804, and Victor Hugo's novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (1831) helped save the neglected building.

On 15 April 2019 a fire destroyed the roof and the spire. Craftsmen from across France rebuilt them using medieval techniques and oak beams, and the cathedral reopened on 7 December 2024, cleaner and brighter than it had been for centuries.

Best time to visit

Tips before you go

• Reserve a free time slot online to avoid the queue, then walk to Sainte-Chapelle nearby.
• Dress respectfully: it is an active cathedral with daily services.
• Climbing the towers needs a separate paid ticket booked online.
• Point Zero, the spot from which all road distances in France are measured, is on the square in front of the cathedral.

What's around Notre-Dame

• Sainte-ChapelleGothic chapel of stained glass, a 5-minute walk across the island.
• Shakespeare and CompanyFamous English-language bookshop facing the cathedral across the river.
• Île Saint-LouisQuiet island of 17th-century houses, known for Berthillon ice cream.
• Latin QuarterStudent streets, cafés and the Sorbonne on the Left Bank.

Questions travellers ask