Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TOP SIGHT
CATHÉDRALE NOTRE DAME DE PARIS
Notre Dame, the most visited unticketed site in Paris with upwards of 14 milli-
on people crossing its threshold annually, is a masterpiece of French Gothic
architecture and the focus of Catholic Paris for seven centuries. Its vast
stained-glass-lit interior has wow factor aplenty, but it is the sky-high mean-
der around its gargoyle-guarded rooftop and extraordinary sculpted facade -
best photographed in the afternoon sun - that most visitors swoon over.
Architecture
Built on a site occupied by earlier churches and, a millennium prior, a Gallo-Roman temple,
Notre Dame was begun in 1163 and largely completed by the early 14th century. The
cathedral was badly damaged during the Revolution, prompting architect Eugène Emmanuel
Viollet-le-Duc to oversee extensive renovations between 1845 and 1864. Enter the magnifi-
cent forest of ornate
flying buttresses
that encircle the cathedral chancel and support its
walls and roof.
Notre Dame is known for its sublime balance, though if you look closely you'll see all
sorts of minor asymmetrical elements introduced to avoid monotony, in accordance with
standard Gothic practice. These include the slightly different shapes of each of the three
main
portals
, whose statues were once brightly coloured to make them more effective as a
Biblia pauperum
- a 'Bible of the poor' to help the illiterate faithful understand Old
Testament stories, the Passion of the Christ and the lives of the saints.
Learn more with an audioguide (€5), available at the front desk upon entering the cathed-
ral.
Rose Windows
The cathedral's grand dimensions are immediately evident when you first enter: the interior
alone is 130m long, 48m wide and 35m high and can accommodate more than 6000 wor-
shippers.
The most spectacular interior features are three rose windows. The most renowned are the
10m-wide window over the western facade above the 7800-pipe organ, and the window on
the northern side of the transept (virtually unchanged since the 13th century).
Towers
