Notre-Dame de Paris
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (meaning “Our Lady of Paris”) is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité. The cathedral’s construction began in 1163 under Bishop Maurice de Sully and was largely complete by 1260, though it was modified frequently in the following centuries.
Basic information
Page navigation: Basic information > Must to See & Do > Transport

The cathedral was consecrated to the Virgin Mary and considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. Its pioneering use of the rib vault and flying buttress, its enormous and colourful rose windows, as well as the naturalism and abundance of its sculptural decoration set it apart from the earlier Romanesque style.
After the French Revolution in 1789, Notre-Dame and the rest of the church’s property in France was seized and made public property. The cathedral was rededicated in 1793 to the Cult of Reason, and then to the Cult of the Supreme Being in 1794. During this time, many of the treasures of the cathedral were either destroyed or plundered. The twenty-eight statues of biblical kings located at the west façade, mistaken for statues of French kings, were beheaded.
Popular interest in the cathedral blossomed soon after the 1831 publication of Victor Hugo’s novel Notre-Dame de Paris (better known in English as *The Hunchback of Notre-Dame).
This led to a major restoration project between 1844 and 1864, supervised by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. The Allied liberation of Paris in 1944 was celebrated within Notre-Dame with the singing of the Magnificat. Beginning in 1963, the cathedral’s façade was cleaned of centuries of soot and grime. Another cleaning and restoration project was carried out between 1991 and 2000.
While undergoing renovation and restoration, the roof of Notre-Dame caught fire on the evening of 15 April 2019. Burning for around 15 hours, the cathedral sustained serious damage, including the destruction of the flèche (the timber spirelet over the crossing) and most of the lead-covered wooden roof above the stone vaulted ceiling.
Stabilizing the structure against possible collapse was completed in November 2020, with reconstruction beginning in 2021. The government of France hopes the reconstruction can be completed by Spring 2024, in time for the opening of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
+ More info: Wikipedia • Wikivoyage • UNESCO
Must to See & Do
Page navigation: Basic information > Must to See & Do > Regions & Cities > Transport
All our articles about France
- Arc de Triomphe, Paris
- Bastille Day (la Fête nationale)
- Catacombs of Paris (ossuary)
- City of Aix-en-Provence
- City of Albi
- City of Annecy
- City of Arles
- City of Avignon
- City of Besançon
- City of Bordeaux
- City of Carcassonne
- City of Dijon
- City of La Rochelle
- City of Lille
- City of Lyon
- City of Marseille
- City of Nantes
- City of Nice
- City of Nimes
- City of Paris
- City of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
- City of Saint-Malo
- City of Strasbourg
- City of Toulouse
- Eiffel Tower, Paris
- Festival of Giants (Gayant), Douai
- Fontainebleau
- Louvre Museum
- Mont Saint-Michel
- Musee d’Orsay, Paris
- National Museum of Modern Art
- Notre-Dame de Paris
- Palace of Versailles
- Verdon Gorge
Also check out all informative articles about popular cities, attractions and festivals in France
Transport around Paris
Page navigation: Basic information > Must to See & Do > Regions & Cities > Transport

RATP ::: Metro timetables • Bus timetables • Tramway timetables • RER timetables
⇒ Public transport (parisinfo.com) • Getting to France (uk.france.fr)
Video source: Paris je t’aime

Links to additional resources with useful information for planning your trip.