Notre-Dame is back, and it is free to walk in. That surprises a lot of our guests. After the fire of April 2019 and five years of restoration, the cathedral reopened in December 2024, and the towers followed on 20 September 2025. So how do you actually visit it today without spending your morning in a queue? Here is what we tell guests before they come.
Is Notre-Dame free to visit?
Yes. Entry to the cathedral itself is free. You do not need a ticket to step inside, but booking a free time slot on the cathedral's official website (notredamedeparis.fr) is the smart move. You can book up to three days ahead, and new slots open at midnight. In high season, it is worth setting an alarm. Without a slot you can still get in, you just risk a longer wait in the line on the square.
When is the best time to visit Notre-Dame?
Our guides' tip: on a weekday, arrive around 8:30 am, right after the first mass of the day (8:00 am). The nave is calm and the morning light is soft. Avoid Saturday afternoons and Sundays, the busiest times of the week. Sunday is above all a day of worship, with masses at 8:30 am, 10:00 am (in Latin), 11:30 am and 6:00 pm.
Two things inside cost money: the climb up the towers and the Treasury. Prices change, so check the official website before you go.
What are Notre-Dame's opening hours?
According to the cathedral's official website, the doors open from 7:50 am to 7:00 pm on weekdays, with a late opening until 10:00 pm on Thursdays, and from 8:15 am to 7:30 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Hours can change for services and special events, so check the official website before you go. Our tip: Thursday evening. The light through the windows fades, the crowds thin out, and the stone turns warm under the lamps.
Remember that Notre-Dame is a working cathedral. Masses happen during opening hours, so keep your voice low and your phone on silent.
Can you climb the towers of Notre-Dame?
You can, and it is worth every step. The towers reopened in September 2025 with a new route. Visits are by reservation only, through the official towers website (tours-notre-dame-de-paris.fr). The City of Paris counts 424 steps to the top of the South Tower, and the terrace sits 69 metres above the square. Leave the big backpack at the hotel.
On the way up, look for three things:
- The chimeras: the famous stone creatures that stare down at the city. Up here you are almost nose to nose with them.
- Emmanuel, the great bell: hung in 1686 and weighing 13.3 tonnes, it is the second-largest bell in France. It only rings on special occasions, so you will most likely see it silent. Lucky ears.
- The view: Sacré-Cœur, the Eiffel Tower, Tour Saint-Jacques and the skyscrapers of La Défense on the horizon.
The route also passes a new oak staircase built during the restoration and a view over the rebuilt timber roof. After 2019, seeing fresh wood up there feels like a small miracle.
When can you see the Crown of Thorns?
This is the question very few visitors know to ask. The Crown of Thorns, the cathedral's most precious relic, is not on permanent display. According to the Diocese of Paris, every Friday the Crown is displayed in its new reliquary, in the axial chapel behind the choir, from 3:00 pm to 6:30 pm. On the first Friday of each month, a veneration is held in the nave from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm, when the faithful come forward to honour the relic. It is a religious ceremony first, so come quietly and respectfully. If you are in Paris on a Friday afternoon, plan your visit around it.
The new reliquary, designed by Sylvain Dubuisson, welcomed the Crown back to the cathedral on 13 December 2024, more than five years after it was saved from the fire.
The relic was brought to Paris by King Louis IX in the 13th century. He built the Sainte-Chapelle, a few minutes' walk away, just to house it. Not a bad jewellery box.
What should you look at inside?
Most people walk in, gasp at the height and walk out. Slow down. Look at the pale, freshly cleaned stone: for decades it was grey with dirt, and now it looks almost cream. Look up at the vaults, rebuilt after the spire crashed through them in 2019, and try to spot where the new stone meets the old. Then find the great rose windows, which survived the fire. Their medieval glass still throws coloured light across the floor on a sunny afternoon.
A guide makes a real difference here. The cathedral is full of stories carved in stone, and most of them are easy to miss if nobody points at them.
See Notre-Dame with a Route33 guide
On our Notre-Dame Reborn guided tour, a licensed guide walks you through eight centuries of history, the fire and the rebuilding, and shows you the details most visitors walk past. Want more? Read our guide to Notre-Dame's new stained glass windows, then cross the island with how to visit the Sainte-Chapelle.
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