Notre-Dame Cathedral

What makes it special

Inside, look up at the three great rose windows on the north, south and west walls. The fire left them mostly intact, and the new visitor route runs along the walls to bring you close to the glass. Gold reliquaries and medieval vestments are among the other things to look for.

Outside, the gargoyles are working drains that throw rainwater clear of the roof. The chimeras, hybrid creatures most of them with a lion's body, were added by Viollet-le-Duc when he restored the cathedral. You get face to face with them on the tower visit, near the south tower's great bells, Emmanuel and Marie; ask when you book whether your climb reaches the belfry.

Above the crossing stands the spire, rebuilt in oak under lead exactly as Viollet-le-Duc drew it, with a new gilded cockerel on top, after the 2019 fire brought the old one down. It rises 96 metres over the island. For the flying buttresses, walk round to Square Jean XXIII behind the cathedral, where you see the whole row of them from the garden.

Visiting

In high season the walk-in line can run to three hours, so come with a reservation from the cathedral's booking page and get in at a set time. Slots are released gradually, so check on the day as well as ahead. Walk-ins still get in, just after a longer wait.

Either line ends at an airport-style bag check before the doors. Inside, the route follows the walls under the rose windows, and if you bring earbuds you can play the audio guide on your phone as you go. Mass needs no reservation.

The tower climb is a separate visit with its own timed slots, and no more than 26 climbers start in each one. The spiral stair has no lift and no toilets. If tight stairs or heights bother you, you can stop short of the narrowest stretch at the very top.

Tips

Pick a sunny day for the glass: the setting sun lights the west rose from behind, so a late-afternoon visit catches it at its brightest, while a grey day gives a softer, even light. The crowd is heaviest from mid-morning to late afternoon and worst at weekends. So the best light can also mean the longest wait.

Ignore any reseller selling a paid skip-the-line ticket for the cathedral; the free reservation is the real one. Before you leave the square in front, find Point Zéro, the marker in the ground from which distances on French roads are measured.