Paris's Notre-Dame Cathedral wasn't just restored after the fire, it was reborn
Sitting at the rooftop bar of the Hôtel Dame des Arts above the beating heart of Paris's Latin Quarter, I admire the unobstructed 360-degree views of the city.
The Eiffel Tower, Les Invalides' gilded golden dome, too many rooftops and tucked-away balconies to count, and nearby the soaring medieval beauty of the city's Gothic wonder, Notre-Dame Cathedral. This repository of French culture dating back to the 12th century has seen everything from the coronation of Napoleon to the funerals of presidents.
On one night in 2019, however, the view would have been vastly different. It would have been horrific. On April 15, around 6.30pm, a fire started in Notre-Dame's roof, destroying much of its 13th-century oak ceiling, its upper walls, and its symbolic crown, a glorious lead-lined 19th-century timber spire. Flames, fed by the forest of timbers in its ceilings, spread toxic lead and dust across a city stunned into shock and disbelief.
The process to restore it, at a cost of €700 million ($1.25bn), befits its monumental status. Over 1000 oak trees from almost 200 public and private forests went through 35 sawmills on their way to the French capital. More than 2000 artisans, including carpenters and stonemasons, glassmakers and scaffolders, painters and sculptors and iron forgers joined to help it rise from the ashes, and Notre-Dame reopened to the public on December 7, 2024.
I last visited Notre-Dame in 2010. Back then its interior seemed to me a shadowy realm, a bleak-looking sanctuary, weathered by centuries of neglect. Bacteria and an accumulation of grime and pollution had infiltrated its porous, Lutetian limestone. The passing of time had turned it black.
The interior isn't just renewed, it shines.
After joining a short but growing queue at 7.45am opening time, what I see when I enter this time, armed only with that memory of a somewhat faded masterpiece, stops me in my tracks. The interior isn't just renewed, it shines. Everything – pillars and pointed arches, its ribbed vaulted ceilings and its statuary and every carving both great and small – seems alive.
Though some of its stained glasses have been replaced, most survived the fire and have been cleaned and are alive with colour. Lasers were used to vaporise eight centuries of grime from carvings and hard-to-get-at niches. Calcium carbonate-based abrasives were applied under low pressure to its broader surfaces such as pillars and walls, and its stonework is now without blemish.
You can take a guided tour of the renewed cathedral, but I prefer instead to wander on my own and contemplate this enduring testament to the ingenuity of an army of dedicated artisans, and of a people of indomitable faith.
Entry to Notre-Dame is always free.
How much does admission cost at Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris
Entry to Notre-Dame is always free. It's open from 7.45am-7pm Monday to Friday, and 8.15am-7.30pm on weekends. A range of paid guided tours is also available.
Best place to stay in Paris
Hôtel Dame des Arts is close to the cathedral.
The author was a guest of the Hôtel Dame des Arts.
Originally published as Notre-Dame Cathedral wasn't just restored after the fire, it was reborn
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