Notre-Dame Reopening in Paris: Photos of the Restoration, Plus How and When to Visit

November 26, 2024

On Saturday, Dec. 7, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris will finally reopen to the public with a globally broadcast ceremony and a series of celebratory masses.

The more than 800-year-old church has been closed for repairs since April 2019, when a fire just about wrecked the building for good, causing the roof and spire to collapse. 

Following an enormous 5-year restoration project, the medieval icon once again looks as it did before the fire, albeit considerably spruced up, from the replaced wooden spire topped with a gilded brass rooster to newly dusted bells in the belfry, cleaned-up frescoes and stained-glass windows, repaired gargoyles, and an interior fully scrubbed of grime for the first time in centuries. 

An astonishing 15 million people are expected to visit the cathedral during its first year back. While admission remains free (though France's culture minister has floated the idea of charging an entry fee), a new mobile app and online reservation system are expected to launch in early December, days before the church's official reopening. 

You don't have to use the online booking platform to reserve a time slot for your visit, but if you don't you'll have to wait in line for up to 3 hours, according to National Geographic.  

For the first 6 months after reopening, only individuals will be allowed to enter Notre-Dame; tour groups can return in June 2025. 

Once inside, you'll follow a new, self-guided, north-to-south circuit designed to lead from darkness to light, per Nat Geo. A highlight will be the Crown of Thorns (obtained from Constantinople by Saint Louis in the 13th century), now on full display in an elaborate new reliquary.

During the epic renovation, Paris-based Nat Geo photographer Tomas van Houtryve got exclusive, behind-the-scenes access to the work being done on the Gothic monument.

Providing a fascinating, up-close view of the historic project, the photographer's images are featured in the December 2024 issue of National Geographic.

A selection of those photos has been made available to Frommer's. Scroll on for a glimpse of Notre-Dame as the church gets ready to welcome back the world. 

Pictured above: Notre-Dame de Paris at the time of the 2024 Summer Olympics

From National Geographic: "Notre Dame's nave, seen here from the organ balcony at the west front, is cleaner and brighter than anyone alive has seen it before, thanks to a latex application that peeled away the soot and lead. 'People won't recognize it,' said Marie-Hélène Didier, a conservator who monitors the restoration for the culture ministry." 

From National Geographic: "High atop the bell towers, many of the beloved grotesques added by 19th-century restorer Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc overlook the city. The one in the foreground is known as Le Stryge. Notre Dame features both grotesques, which are decorative, and gargoyles, which double as rainspouts. Masons took damaged gargoyles down to be repaired, setting some alongside newly sculpted replicas, which are shown here, waiting to be hoisted into place."

From National Geographic: "At the top of the vaulted ceiling, a gilt angel adorns the oculus, the stone ring at the apex of the chamber and transept crossing. The key structural element was part of an area where the original spire had pierced the original ceiling as it fell—once the repair scaffolding was dismantled, the opening was sealed, and the oculus rebuilt."

Early on, there was talk—including from French President Emmanuel Macron—of replacing the old spire (which dated to 1859) with something new, appalling preservationists with ideas such as a crystal steeple. France's chief architect of historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve, said that would be like giving the Mona Lisa a nose job. 

In the end, the classic spire was rebuilt as before, with roughly 1,000 wood pieces requiring 600 tons of scaffolding during the construction, according to Nat Geo. 

The preceding photos by Tomas van Houtryve appear in the December 2024 issue of National Geographic. For more on this story, visit NatGeo.com. 

And for more help planning a trip to the French capital, pick up a copy of Frommer's Paris 2025, available in paperback and e-book editions.