Notre-Dame de Paris

Our Lady of Paris

West View of Notre-Dame

Welcome Sign

Definitely worth a visit if you're going to Paris, and even better, it's free! (Technically. See below for my comments on the catholic money trap...)

I arrived at Notre Dame to a queue longer than the one at the Oblivion Ride at Alton Towers on my visit in 2006 (we had that fast-track queue jump there though). Ultimately I don't mind, there's not a huge amount of queuing going on in France and queues make the British feel at home; we do love a good queue!

Archway at Notre-Dame Entrance

Thankfully this one was moving relatively quickly, and was entertained by a variety of street performers including a female duo singing covers, a mime artist, painters, and street sellers with knock-off key rings and 3D paper cuts of the Notre-Dame.

There were also lots of people advertising guided group tours around Notre-Dame and the surrounding area in English, French, German, Japanese, Russian... These, however, would set you back between 20-30€  if you chose to follow around a dude with a bow/flag-topped stick.

Give a expected discretionary 2€ donation 

and light a symbolic tealight...

Personally, I chose to go for the individual audio tour in English. This costs you just 5€ and the hostage of some form of ID (to encourage the safe return of the audio device). On the plus side, they do take 50€ notes here, in case you were wondering! Unless you want to get arm ache by carrying it around like a telephone the whole time, thus meaning you can't listen to the audio and watch any video clips at the same time, you can turn it right up. This tends to lead to a few disgruntled looks and 'husssh' noises in your direction - it is a place of worship after all! If you want to spare yourself the arm ache, be able to watch and listen at the same time, and avoid the wrath of god-fearing Catholics, take headphones! (which I happened to have on me. Phew!)


For your 5€, you will also be given a very 'informative' bit of paper with a 'map' and numbers on it, detailing where you need to press the corresponding number for the audio tour. Until I got to about 6 I couldn't work out what it was telling me to look at. 'Look to your left and you will see a stunning example of one of the largest cathedral organs. This organ, known as the great organ, was built in....' *cue a confused me looking about wildly to see where this organ is, frustratedly walking backwards and then forwards to see if I've missed it or pushed the button too early* (N.B. I still have no idea where the organ was, or when the organ was built! Edit. The Notre-Dame Website tells me there's three, and that the great one is above you on the west entrance - so you have to turn around and look up).

Notre-Dame is a hulking great money trap for the Roman Catholic Church though, and is clearly desperate to get a minimum of 5€ from each and every one of the 13 million people that visit it each year (estimated annual income of €65 million+). There are donation boxes every few metres, tours, and even a shop (in the actual cathedral, very strange). They encourage donations for lighting tealights (2€), a mini candle (5€), large candle (15€) or a candlestick (4-10€), plus there are lots of other donation boxes too.

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Rose Stained-Glass Window
(Probably the North)

The architecture of the Notre-Dame is really beautiful. Reminds me a bit of the gothic architecture at Hogwarts in Harry Potter (part filmed in Gloucester Cathedral).

The stained-glass windows are also very beautiful, and there are stained-glass windows everywhere. The stained-glass windows of Notre-Dame are regarded as some of the most intricate and most impressive masterpieces in architectural christian art. These were probably my favourite bit. They are so pretty and colourful!

The Cathedral of Notre-Dame is also home to some really impressive statues, and paintings. There are statues of various saints all the way around, including Saint Denis (first Bishop of Paris), Thomas Aquinas, and Joan of Arc. Some of these statues are lovely - I quite liked the one of Joan of Arc - but others are a bit odd. Saint Denis, for example, seems to always be portrayed with his head in his hands (like, detached). This does have some meaning though, Denis is said to have been martyred (by decapitation) and then to have picked up his head and walked 6 miles while preaching a sermon. Lovely...

Another very nice part of the Notre-Dame Cathedral are the choir walls which are decorated with artistic statues on both sides. One side depicting five scenes of the post-Resurrection Easter story of Jesus, called 'The Apparitions of Christ' (particularly him visiting the disciples after he rose from the dead), and the other with nine scenes of the Nativity Story and Jesus' childhood. These are really pretty and according to the audio guide have not been changed at all since they were built in the middle-ages, other than being repainted. There apparently also used to be a wall portraying the rest of Jesus' life, particularly his crucifixion but that isn't there anymore.

Rose Stained-Glass Window
(Maybe South?)

At the rear of Notre-Dame there are lots of interesting displays, my favourite of which was the little model of the Cathedral so you could see the architecture close up. There was also another little chapel which had a red glass case, supposedly protecting a thorn crown.

More Stained-Glass windows

Choir Wall with sculptures of "The Apparitions of Christ" 

Statue of St. Joan of Arc (1412-1431)
Born in Domrémy, burned alive in Rouen
as a heretic and a witch.
The decision to rehabilitate her reputation
was made at Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Thorn Crown encased in Red Glass
(Not sure exactly why...)

Statue of a Pope

 The Models of the Notre-Dame

Other Photos

North Stained-Glass Rose Window

Ornate gold box

Another little chapel - there are loads of these all
around the outside of the Knave and Aisles.

Another Shrine for Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Light one of these candles and be strongly encouraged
to fork out 5euros for the privilege.
It is a candle in Notre Dame after all...

Notre-Dame's Main Baptistry

Ornate decoration of the Saints (Entrance)
Saint Denis is the third from the left, holding his head...

Statue of the Mary and Jesus
under the arch between the entrance and exit

View of the side of Notre Dame

The Bells of Notre Dame

"Morning in Paris, the City awakes, to the Bells of Notre Dame..."

Outside the Notre-Dame, if you turn right and go around to the north side, you can see the four big bells of Notre-Dame. These are the newer bells of Notre-Dame which were made around 1850's to replace the ones melted down during the revolution. The largest bell, called Emmanuel, was spared and still rings in the South Tower.

The Bells are huge but aren't really mentioned in the audio guide or anywhere else (until you just happen to walk past them on your desperate hunt for a toilet).

           
Strangely, one of Paris' most famous novels by Victor Hugo (thanks Disney for adding to the fame), 'The Hunchback of Notre-Dame', was only mentioned once, in the introduction of the audio guide - "the Cathedral has always been a subject of much interest, and was even featured in the novel by the French author, Victor Hugo, which captured the hearts of many..."

Anyway, if you get a chance, Fran is right. It's a must-see.