Best Time to Visit Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre-Dame Cathedral has been setting romantic hearts soaring since time immemorial. Construction on the emblematic French-Gothic confection began during the reign of Louis VII in 1163 and took 100 years to complete, and the building has undergone many more alterations since. It’s set on the Île de la Cité, a natural island on the Seine in central Paris that’s also home to the extraordinary Sainte-Chapelle, and just a short stroll from other major Paris attractions including the Louvre, the Panthéon, Luxembourg Gardens, and the historic Marais district.

Considered an absolute masterpiece of Gothic architecture, Notre-Dame’s stunning stained-glass windows, stone towers, gruesome gargoyles and soaring spire have inspired countless writers, painters, romantics and dreamers down the centuries. We’re talking Matisse, Picasso, Hopper and, perhaps most famously of all, Victor Hugo’s Gothic novel The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. 

The cathedral has also borne witness to major historical events including its desecration during the French Revolution, the 1804 coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte, and celebrations for the liberation of Paris in 1944.

More recently, in 2019 the cathedral’s iconic wooden flèche (along with much of the rest of the roof) was destroyed by fire. The painstakingly restored cathedral finally reopened to the public again in December 2024.

Even the most committed atheist might come close to having a religious experience inside the hallowed walls of Notre-Dame, where a major clean-up project has revealed creamy limestone interiors, now scrubbed of centuries of soot and grime and looking as good as they would have done when the cathedral was built way back in the 12th Century. Here are just a few of Notre-Dame’s must-see moments…

The Rose Windows. Depicting biblical scenes in bright, vivid colors, Notre-Dame’s iconic stained-glass windows (some panels of which are nearly 900 years old!) are among its most celebrated features. Don’t miss the magnificent Rose Windows, one of which is nearly 40 feet across and depicts the Last Judgement.

The Great Organ. This magnificent instrument has around 8,000 pipes, some of which are up to 32 feet tall; little wonder that it’s the largest organ in France.

The Nave and Labyrinth. Spend time admiring the awe-inspiring Gothic nave, with its soaring ceiling and columns and don't miss the Labyrinth, an intricate circular pattern carved in the nave’s stone floor.

The Treasury. Ogle ancient relics including items purported to be Christ’s thorny crucifixion crown, and a nail and sliver of wood from the cross he died on.

Bells and gargoyles! Climb the towers for close-up views of some of the cathedral’s great bells, including the famous 13-ton Emmanuel. You can also access the Galerie des Chimères to get up close and personal with the cathedral’s gaggle of gargoyles and grotesques, including Le Stryge, aka the vampire or spitting gargoyle.

• Notre-Dame de Paris is 420 feet long and 157 feet wide. The nave soars to 115 feet, the tallest tower to 226 feet and the flèche (or spire) to a whopping 315 feet.
• The restored roof contains 26 timber frames hewn out of around 1,000 mature oaks from some 200 French forests.
• Renovation of the fire-damaged cathedral took five years and cost an eye-watering €850m.
• There are three medieval rose windows, one of which contains original glass from the 12th Century.
• The cathedral’s exterior boasts just over 50 grotesques (or chimeras) – ornamental stone statues of beasts both real and mythical – plus 30-or-so gargoyles: functional sculptures designed to channel rainwater away from the building.
• Notre-Dame de Paris welcomes around 12 million visitors every year, making it one of the most popular (and maybe *the* most popular) attractions in Paris.

Notre-Dame is a year-round attraction which, as we previously indicated, is one of the most popular in Paris. So when’s the best time to visit? Well, that largely depends on what you’re hoping to get out of the experience. Here are our tips to help you make the most of your visit.

Best Time for Avoiding the Crowds. The cathedral opens its doors at 7.45AM. Get there bright and early if you want to experience the nave in all its hushed, magical glory. Note that some areas of the cathedral, including the Treasury, won’t open until around 9AM.

Best Time for Climbing the Towers. Only 20-30 visitors are permitted to climb the towers at a time, so queues tend to form quickly. Get there first thing for your best chance of avoiding the lines. NB: at time of writing, access to the Towers has not yet re-opened to the general public. 

Best Time for Insta Addicts. Notre-Dame is a visual feast at any time of day, but during golden hour – the first hour after sunrise and the last before sunset – is prime time for capturing the intricate Gothic spire, grotesques and gargoyles at their beautiful best.

Best Time for Festive Feels. June’s citywide Fête de la Musique brings music, laughter and color to Île de la Cité, while December is where it’s at if you want to sip mulled wine by the huge Christmas tree in front of the cathedral and enjoy the romance of all those twinkling fairy lights. Notre-Dame also, of course, hosts a fairly epic Christmas Eve mass, complete with candlelight, choral singers and a huge nativity scene.

The cathedral is free to enter, but if you want to take a deep dive into its long and storied past, a guided tour is recommended. There’s one included with the Paris Pass, which can save you money on entry to nearly 100 major Paris attractions – everything from bucket-list biggies like the Louvre and Eiffel Tower to cool tours of 19th-century shopping arcades and cheese-tasting experiences.

Hit the buttons down below to find out more about the Paris Pass and to buy yours!