Tickets and queues: How to visit Paris' newly reopened Notre-Dame

At the start of December 2024, Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral reopened, following a huge renovation project with more than 500 specialist artisans from all over the world bringing their expertise in crafts ranging from stonemasonry to glazing in order to restore the fire-damaged cathedral.

A weekend of grand ceremonies, attended by world leaders and donors, marked the official reopened, and now the cathedral is once again accessible to the public.

In the first month of reopening, more than 800,000 people flocked to see the revived building.

How do I organise my visit?

There are two ways to visit - turn up and queue or reserve tickets in advance on the cathedral website.

Queue - turning up involves less advance planning, but you can expect to be waiting for some time. Queues at the weekend are still very long, with no guarantee of entry, but on weekdays you can be reasonably sure of getting in if you don't mind waiting. The cathedral is free to enter.

Tickets - advance tickets are still free, but can be reserved on the cathedral's website here or by downloading their app (iOs or android). There are online queues too, so expect to make a few attempts before you are successful - tickets can only be booked up to three days in advance, but more tickets are added several times a day.

These websites are the only authorised vendors of tickets, any tickets bought through another platform are not authorised.

You will receive a timed slot for entry to the cathedral, although once inside there is no limit on how long you can stay.

The visit is not a guided tour so you can take as much or as little time as you want, visitors are simply directed clockwise around the cathedral. Photography is allowed. 

After initial late-night openings, the cathedral is back to its usual opening hours of 7.50am to 7pm, although it stays open until 10pm on Thursdays. Saturdays and Sundays it opens 8.15am to 7.30pm, although be aware of closures for Mass.

What about groups?

Be aware that admission will initially be reserved for individual visitors. Group bookings will not be possible until six months after the cathedral’s reopening, officials have said.

That is also when guided tours will restart.

Visits for worship or concerts

The cathedral has restarted its regular schedule of Mass and religious services - due to high demand it is advised to reserve a ticket in advance for Mass, which can also be done on the cathedral website.

If you visit during non-service hours, the seating in the middle of the cathedral is reserved for people at prayer. The confessional is open every day from 10am to 12 noon and 2pm to 6pm, or 4pm to 6pm on Sundays, with priests able to take confession in multiple languages (check the stickers next to the priest's name to see the languages they speak). 

The cathedral also has a busy schedule of concerts, which are paid-for and must be reserved in advance - check the cathedral website for details.

What next?

The long-term plan is to end the ticketing system and revert to free entry, although that will only happen once demand has died down and the visitor numbers become more manageable, this is expected to happen towards the end of 2025.

Even though Notre-Dame has reopened with the interior largely complete, there is still some scaffolding up as work continues on the exterior of the building.

In the longer term, the cathedral’s restoration work will continue for another four to five years as attention turns to the outside space - there are plans to add trees and vegetation to the square in front of the cathedral and extend the cathedral gardens so that they run all the way down to the river.