🇫🇷Notre-Dame de Paris 2026: Free Entry, Tower Climb Booking and What Changed After the Fire

Photographed on site, 24 August 2025, around 17:00 — the west facade faces west, so afternoon is when it is front-lit; the crane on the right belongs to the rebuild, and the facade itself is out of scaffolding

On 15 April 2019 the roof and spire of Notre-Dame were destroyed by fire. After nearly five years of restoration the cathedral reopened on 8 December 2024, and the tower climb reopened on 20 September 2025. What you see today is close to the pre-fire building — in places brighter and sharper than it had been in living memory, because the stone was cleaned in the process.

A walk-through of the reopened interior, filmed on site:

Entry is free, but book anyway

The nave is free to visit. The catch is the queue: between April and October, turning up without a reservation regularly means two to three hours in line.

• Book at: notredamedeparis.fr, or the official "Notre-Dame de Paris" app (iOS and Android)
• When slots appear: typically two to three days ahead, in 30-minute blocks
• Low season (November–March): the on-the-day queue is usually manageable without a booking

Opening hours (2026)

• Monday–Wednesday, Friday: 07:50–19:00 (last entry 18:30)
• Thursday: 07:50–22:00 (last entry 21:30)
• Saturday–Sunday: 08:15–19:30 (last entry 19:00)

The tower climb is a separate booking — and separately ticketed

This trips almost everyone up. The south tower uses a completely different reservation system from the nave: tours-notre-dame-de-paris.fr. There is no on-site ticket desk — everything must be booked online, including the free tickets for those who qualify.

• Price: €16 for adults. Free (but still requiring an online slot) for under-18s, EU citizens and long-term residents aged 18–25, and visitors with disabilities plus one companion.
• Hours: 1 April–30 September 9:00–23:00; 1 October–31 March 9:00–17:30. Last entry one hour before closing.
• Annual closures: 1 January, 1 May, 25 December. Extreme heat or storms can also close it at short notice.
• The climb: 424 steps, 69 metres, no lift. Some passages are only 45 cm wide and require ducking. You get five minutes at the top.
• Not suitable for: anyone with heart conditions or vertigo, pregnant visitors, or young children.
• Not permitted: large bags, selfie sticks, tripods, glass bottles, pushchairs (baby carriers are fine). There is no cloakroom and no toilet on the route.

The treasury and the crypt

The Treasury (Trésor) holds the cathedral's most significant religious objects, including the Crown of Thorns. €12, and sold on site only — no online booking.

The Archaeological Crypt sits under the square in front of the cathedral and displays layers of Parisian city fabric from the Gallo-Roman period to the 19th century. €9, ticketed and entered separately, via its own staircase on the square.

What the restoration changed

• The fire destroyed the timber roof structure and the spire. The stone shell, the twin towers and the rose windows survived.
• The principle was restoration to the previous state: the spire was rebuilt to Viollet-le-Duc's 19th-century design at 1:1, and the roof frame was rebuilt using traditional carpentry and French oak.
• What's different: the interior stone was cleaned, so the nave is markedly lighter than before; the lighting was fully replaced; and the altar, seating and liturgical furniture were newly commissioned from contemporary designers.

What else is within walking distance

Notre-Dame sits on the Île de la Cité, where Paris began. Within a few minutes on foot:

• Sainte-Chapelle — the high point of Gothic stained glass, five minutes away. Small, and worth the ticket.
• Conciergerie — the prison where Marie Antoinette was held during the Revolution, in the same complex as Sainte-Chapelle.
• Shakespeare and Company — the English-language bookshop across the river on the Left Bank.
• Point Zéro — the bronze marker on the square from which all French road distances are measured.

Back to the Paris travel guide for the full set of half-day routes.