Loyal worshippers, fans and friends of Notre-Dame de Paris have welcomed the news of its very grand reopening. Are you planning to visit the iconic cathedral in 2025 too?
Here’s a sneak peek at what to expect from your trip to Notre-Dame, whether you’re a regular or newcomer. It’s full of surprises and wonder, but what really blows you away is the light. Visitors to the long-awaited renovation bask in the radiant glow bouncing off the bright white stone and flooding through the crystal-clear stained glass.
If you want to squeeze every last drop out of your trip to the cathedral, you need to plan ahead, get to know Notre-Dame’s treasury and what not to miss.
BEFORE YOUR TRIP
What you need to know about booking a trip to Notre-Dame in 2025:
Let’s start with some useful information to plan your trip to Notre-Dame.
Groupes ou individuels, les dates d’entrée changent :
- Dès le 16 décembre 2024 : Pour les individuels uniquement (visiteurs seuls, fidèles ou curieux), la cathédrale de Notre-Dame retrouve son ouverture “à temps plein” accueillant ses visiteurs de 7h45 à 19h00. Trois messes journalières sont données, quatre le dimanche.
- À partir de mars 2025 : c’est la date de réouverture des réservations pour les groupes. Les groupes de visiteurs “culturels”, pour des accompagnateurs munis de cartes professionnelles ou pour des enseignants exclusivement.
Crédit photos : ©Justine DEHARO
Do you have to book your trip to Notre-Dame?
You don’t have to, but it’s best you do!
Visitors have been so excited about Notre-Dame reopening that it’s bound to be busy! It’s best to pre-book so you avoid having to queue for too long (and risk not getting in with a maximum capacity of 3000 people in the cathedral). You can book your date and time on the website or the app.
Is admission free?
Despite much debate, it’s still free to visit Notre-Dame. The Paris cathedral stands out from the crowd in this respect with the Duomo in Milan, Westminster Abbey and many more charging over 20 Euros to get in.
A variety of visitor experiences
The cathedral’s visitor route and signage have been updated. The route now runs from left to right and focuses on 10 areas of interest with visitor information suitable for all ages. There are also 5 different tours available to book online to suit different audiences: general tour, family tour, pilgrimage tour, audio tour and easy read tour.
Visit the Treasury of Notre-Dame
The treasury of Notre-Dame is made up of relics, religious and liturgical items “in contact with the body of Christ, in the form of the host and wine”. It includes chalices, wafer boxes, accessories, books and vestments. Fine craftsmen made these items from precious and rare materials: gold, gemstones, mother-of-pearl, pearl, sumptuous fabrics etc. They are still used for mass, sacristy and services.
Admission to the treasury costs 12 Euros (standard ticket in 2025) but it’s well worth it to get up close to these outstanding historical, cultural and artistic items and grasp the role of Notre-Dame in the history of the French capital.
Crédit photos : ©Justine DEHARO
Tourists and pilgrims: a space for everyone
Notre-Dame Cathedral is a holy place where pilgrims and worshippers come to gather their thoughts and pray. Everyone who visits the cathedral must respect their wish for silence and space, especially children. Please don’t talk near the confessionals or transept and don’t sit in the front pews before the altar which are reserved for worshippers. The Crown of Thorns, Saint Guillaume Chapel, choir and pews in front of the statue of the Virgin Mary are also devoted to prayer.
Crédit photos : ©Justine DEHARO
DURING YOUR TRIP
What not to miss in Notre-Dame:
The Crown of Thorns has a new home
The ancient Crown of Thorns is one of the greatest relics among believers and has withstood the test of time and even flames on April 15th 2019.
It was originally housed in the Sainte-Chapelle, a beautiful chapel built especially for it on Ile de la Cité, before being moved to Notre-Dame in the 19th century. It was saved from the fire (it was secretly stored at Paris Town Hall during the cathedral’s renovation) and has been given a new showcase in a reliquary commissioned by the archbishop of Paris and designed by Sylvain Dubuisson. Stonemasons have carved an altar from Carrara marble with a cross lit by small LED candles, topped by a disc covered in glass blocks and set in a cedar wall. The semi sphere housing the Crown of Thorns in the centre gleams in deep blue to match Notre-Dame’s vault and stained glass. The relic’s setting is lit by fibre optics to avoid fire hazards and will host the Crown of Thorns for special celebrations!
Visitors who want to see the legendary item for themselves should head to the “secret” easternmost chapel in Notre-Dame.
The Mays of Notre-Dame
May what?
The Mays of Notre-Dame are large paintings commissioned by the Paris guild of goldsmiths and gifted to Notre-Dame every year on May 1st from 1630 to 1707. They were painted by the best artists of their times, including Charles Le Brun, Guido Reni, Lubin Baugin and Laurent de La Hyre. There are now just thirteen Mays in the cathedral with nine other paintings. One of the best is La Conversion de Saint Paul by Laurent de La Hyre in the second North Chapel!
Chapelle Saint-Martin
This chapel has come into the light after being closed to visitors. It was so dusty and dirty that you couldn’t even see its 19th century designs by Viollet-Le-Duc. The post-fire renovation has restored it to its former glory, revealing its incredible colours, narrative scenes and polychrome decorative details. The “ghosts” of sculptures that had been moved to another chapel were also found in the once dark and gloomy chapel.
The Pietà by Nicolas Coustou and lead stigmata…
Nicolas Cousteau drew inspiration from Michelangelo at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome to create a baroque masterpiece during the reign of Louis XIV. The Pietà is so detailed that you can even see the tears carved into the Virgin Mary’s cheeks. The sculpture had only just been restored before the disaster in 2019 when Mary and Christ were splashed with lead and soot as the fire tore through the woodwork and vault!
Whilst cleaning the piece, a decision was made to “remember the fire” and leave the drops of molten lead that had fallen onto Christ’s hand.
Crédit photos : ©Justine DEHARO
New furniture… made in France
Notre-Dame’s nave has been treated to new solid oak chairs from trees in Sologne and new “mobilier liturgical”.
It’s time for some French practice! The baptistry, altar, ambo, tabernacle and throne are all classed as liturgical or religious furniture. They’re all made from bronze at a foundry in the Drôme area called Barthélémy Art.
Notre-Dame’s custodians expect around 15 million visitors a year with peak numbers up to Pentecost 2025.
Notre-Dame de Paris already had 12 million visitors a year before the devastating fire on April 15th 2019! The cathedral was the most-visited cultural site in Paris and even put the Louvre in the shade.
VAL knows how excited you all are about visiting the Paris attraction and can help you have the best trip there in the next few months (or years!).