Paris has many tourist hot-spots to visit throughout the city, and without a doubt, the Notre Dame is high up on that list as one of the most well-known cathedrals in France (we’ve all seen The Hunchback of Notre Dame..). This cathedral is an example of the historic French Gothic architecture with a beautiful exterior and an equally mesmerizing interior adorned with intricate stained glass windows throughout.
Notre Dame is located on the Île de la Cité along the La Seine river within the 4th arrondissement. There are quite a few other things to do around the area, so plan to make a half day excursion along with your trip to the cathedral.
When we arrived at Notre Dame, there were tonnes of people scattered throughout the area and very long queues to get into the cathedral. I suggest you get there early to avoid the crowds.
There were two main queues – one at the side of the cathedral for a tour up to the top of the cathedral for 8,50€ and another queue at the front for a free tour of the main floor inside the church.
The queue to get inside and tour around the main floor of the church went by quite fast, so don’t be discouraged by the long line. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the top of the Notre Dame due to the much slower moving queue and our lack of time.
Notre Dame is a massive cathedral with beautifully bright stained glass windows throughout. There is a section in the back of the church that goes through the different stages of how the cathedral started in 1163 and was finished in 1345, which was a great read-through (especially if you’re a history buff).
