All about the Reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral
Following the 2019 fire, Notre Dame of Paris has been closed to the public. Finally, after 5 years of reconstruction work, the Notre Dame Cathedral reopening date will be 7 December 2024.
Located on Ile de la Cité, Notre Dame Cathedral is Paris’s beating heart. Here’s what you need to know about the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral and how to visit it when it opens. Not all the information is available yet, so keep clicking for the latest Notre Dame updates!
Last update: 3 December 11:40 a.m. (Paris time)
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Notre Dame Cathedral Reopening Date (And When Can You Visit Notre Dame)
Notre Dame will open its doors on 7-8 December 2024 with the celebration of several events (more on this below).
Individual visitors will be able to visit Notre Dame from Monday, 9 December 2024. Bookings for Monday, 9 December, will open on 7 December 2024 (link not available yet). During the first week, the Cathedral will be open for visits until 10 p.m.
Given the expected number of visitors, Notre Dame wants to prioritize individual rediscovery. Groups will be able to visit the Cathedral from Pentecost 2025 (=Sunday, 8 June 2025). Online bookings for groups will be possible starting Easter 2025 (=end of April 2025).
For the time being, there’s no word on when the tower climbs will resume.
Notre Dame Cathedral Reopening Ceremony
The Notre Dame Cathedral reopening ceremony will take place on 7 December 2024 and will be widely broadcast on TV. The reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral will be by invitation only.
The reopening ceremony will have a “republican” time, a secular time, a religious time, and a more festive time that will gather local authorities and heads of state.
On the square in front of the Cathedral, there will be a speech by the President of the Republic, which will be followed by a liturgical ceremony presided over by the Archbishop of Paris.
At night, a concert with famous French artists and international stars will follow at the Parvis de Notre Dame.
On 8 December 2024, the Cathedral will reopen its doors with the first mass in years with the public. On the day of the Immaculate Conception, the main altar will be consecrated.
- At 10:30 a.m., there will be the mass for the consecration of the altar (presided over by the Archbishop, with Heads of State and invited personalities)
- At 6:30 p.m., there will be the mass for the 2nd Sunday of Advent. This mass is open to the public, but a reservation is required for this celebration. This reservation system will be put online on Tuesday, 3 December (here’s the link).
- From 9 to 15 December, there will be other masses which will also require advance reservation. You can find the information on the other masses here.
Security Measures during the Notre Dame Cathedral Reopening Events
On the occasion of the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral on 7 and 8 December, an important security system will be deployed to guarantee everybody’s security.
A SILT zone (for “Internal Security and the Fight against Terrorism”), similar to the one that was set up during the Olympic Games, will be deployed in Paris from Saturday, 7 December at 7 a.m. to Sunday, 8 December at 8 p.m. This perimeter will encompass the entire Île de la Cité and a large part of the quays on the left bank, from the Pont de la Tournelle to the Pont Neuf.
- The Parvis de Notre Dame will only be accessible to guests, accredited people, and local residents (proof of address will be necessary).
- Access to Ile de la Cité will be closed from Saturday, 7 December (all day) to Sunday, 8 December, 8 p.m.
- Access to Quartier Saint-Michel will be closed on Saturday, 7 December, from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on Sunday, 8 December, from 9 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Metro stations St Michel, Cité, and Pont-Neuf and transportation in this area in general will be heavily disrupted.
The Préfecture de Paris strongly recommends avoiding the hypercenter of Paris on the weekend of 7 and 8 December.
How to Visit Notre Dame Cathedral
At the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral, visits will be available only for individual visitors. Despite recent rumors, access to the Cathedral will be free for everybody.
There won’t be Notre Dame Cathedral tickets for the general visit.* The Cathedral is working on an online booking system (link not available yet) that will allow visitors to choose a time slot for the same day or the day after, thus limiting the waiting times to visit Notre Dame.
It will also be possible to visit Notre Dame Cathedral spontaneously, but long waiting lines are to be expected, especially during the first months after the reopening.
Groups will be able to visit the Cathedral for free as well, but audiophone rental will be necessary. Groups must be accompanied by a speaker. Only professional tour guides and teachers will be able to speak inside (= holders of a national speaker card or practicing teacher card).
* NB: the parts managed by the Church will be free to visit, while the parts managed by the National Monuments (visit of the treasure and the towers) will have an entrance fee.
GOOD TO KNOW: For those who will be in Paris before the reopening, there are volunteers offering free guided tours around the Cathedral in French, English, German, and Portuguese at 2:30 p.m. Tours in French are daily. English tours are on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. German tours are on 28 November and 5 December, and Portuguese tours are on 30 November. There won’t be Notre Dame tours on 6, 7, and 8 December.
Notre Dame Cathedral Visit:
Unlike the visits before the Notre Dame Cathedral reopening, this time, visitors will follow a set itinerary designed to offer a better comprehension of the Cathedral and the Christian faith in general.
Entry will be through the central portal of the Last Judgment, then visitors will follow a biblical, educational and symbolic path leading them to life and light. During the visit, visitors will be able to appreciate a new layout of the chapels, new signage, and furniture, as well as admire all the frescoes, paintings, and objects recently restored.
Inside, the cleaning of the walls has given Notre Dame an unprecedented luminosity. The diocese of Paris, in charge of this part of the renovation, decided to equip the building with new liturgical furniture in brown bronze, made in a foundry in the Drôme (south of France).
The Treasure will be available to visit from 16 December 2024. This will be the opportunity for visitors to discover the four-metre-high reliquary for the crown of thorns.
More Notre Dame Cathedral updates are coming soon.
Read about the Compagnons du Devoir, a secretive brotherhood of craftsmen set up in the Middle Ages. Based in France, the Compagnons du Devoir are among the world’s best craftspeople and have been key for the reconstruction of Notre Dame.
When Will Notre Dame Be Finished
Although it will be possible to visit Notre Dame Cathedral inside from 9 December 2024, this doesn’t mean that all the works will be finished.
The exterior of the Cathedral’s apse will still be under construction for the next two years, and new stained-glass windows will be installed on the south aisle of the nave. The redevelopment of the surroundings will start in 2025.
For the time being, the Cathedral hasn’t communicated a finish date for all the works.
Notre Dame Cathedral Updates
29 November 2024: the President of the French Republic is expected to visit Notre Dame Cathedral today at 9:30 a.m. You can follow this visit inside live here from 9:30 a.m. to 13:00 p.m. (you will need to create an account). According to historians, “The cathedral as it will be presented on 29 November has never been seen in living memory, at least since the end of the restoration work of Viollet-le-Duc in the 1870s.”
Update: here’s the replay of the guided tour inside the restored Cathedral. What an amazing “guided tour”!
15 November 2024: the statue of Notre Dame returned to Notre Dame Cathedral. The procession was preceded by the Archbishop of the Diocese of Paris, Monsignor Ulrich, and a crowd of pilgrims.
8 November 2024: the Paris 2024 Bell was donated to Notre Dame Cathedral. Located in the Olympic Stadium, this bell was used to celebrate the athletes’ victories and records and to share their joys with the public present. We cannot think of a better place for such a symbolic object!
21-22 September 2024: During the Heritage Days, locals and visitors could learn more about the restoration works at Notre Dame and chat with some of the workers and craftsmen.
12 September 2024: the eight bells from the Cathedral’s north bell tower returned to Notre Dame. They were blessed by Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector-archpriest.
