Renovation, Restoration and Rebirth: A Notre-Dame Tour with Context

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Paris audio tour: Renovation, Restoration and Rebirth: A Notre-Dame Tour with Context

This is an indoor tour

Paris

France

$19.99

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About the Tour

Notre-Dame de Paris has watched over generations of changing artistic tastes, political upheaval, and religious practices.

On this walking tour, you’ll find out how the newly restored UNESCO World Heritage site has evolved through nearly nine centuries of construction, destruction, and rebirth – including its remarkable recovery from the devastating 2019 fire. Your guide on this audio tour is Lindsey Hansen, a Context Travel expert and art historian specializing in medieval French Gothic architecture.

The tour starts in the square in front of the cathedral and takes you through its most significant spaces, including the central nave and the ambulatory chapels with their funerary monuments for France’s elite. During the tour, you’ll learn to spot the difference between original medieval elements, later additions, and recent restorations.

The tour ends at the magnificent Grand Organ, where you’ll be taught to ”read” the cathedral’s complex history through its architecture – including its 12th-century foundations, its 19th-century restoration under Viollet-le-Duc, and its 21st-century rebirth.

On this 90-minute tour, you’ll also have a chance to:

Marvel at the magnificent north and south rose windows, added in the 1260s to modernize the cathedral in the fashionable Rayonnant Gothic style
Study the exquisitely carved scenes from Christ’s life in a 14th-century choir screen that somehow survived centuries of destruction
View the Crown of Thorns reliquary, housing one of Christianity’s most sacred relics, which was dramatically rescued during the 2019 fire
Take in the Virgin of the Pillar, a sculpture from the 1800s that’s moved locations multiple times during the cathedral’s history
See the 19th-century rooster that topped the spire before it was damaged in the 2019 fire, and a crucifix with traces of molten lead from the burning roof
Learn about the cathedral’s monumental Grand Organ with its 8,000 pipes – a complex instrument representing six centuries of musical technology
Understand how the 2019-2024 restoration balanced historical authenticity with modern innovations, including a sophisticated fire suppression system hidden behind medieval facades

This tour offers a rare opportunity to trace Notre-Dame’s 900-year evolution, from its medieval origins to its post-fire restoration.

Tour Producer

Context Travel

92 tours

Context was founded in Rome in 2003 by Paul Bennett and Lani Bevacqua an expat couple eager to curate experiences for travelers, not tourists. Since then Context has taken over 200,000 people to 60+ destinations around the world – accompanied by thousands of leading experts. What started as a dream to create cross-cultural connections is now a worldwide network and community of thoughtful, engaged travelers and experts.

Join a live private or small group tour in destinations around the world at contexttravel.com.

Preview Location

Location 18

19th-Century Rooster

Do you remember the rooster sculpture decorating the top of the spire that we saw when we were outside? This is the rooster that that one replaced – the one that fell off the burning spire of the cathedral as it went crashing through the roof and the vaults.

In the hours af... Do you remember the rooster sculpture decorating the top of the spire that we saw when we were outside? This is the rooster that that one replaced – the one that fell off the burning spire of the cathedral as it went crashing through the roof and the vaults.

In the hours after the fire, it was feared that this rooster had been lost to the inferno, and turned into molten metal like the rest of the lead-covered spire. This would have been a particularly brutal loss for the cathedral, as the rooster contained several sacred objects.

In 1859, during Viollet-le-Duc’s reconstruction of the spire, the restorers had placed a small reliquary into this rooster which contained three things: first, a fragment of the true cross, or the cross that it was believed Jesus was crucified on; second, a fragment of a bone of Saint Denis – he’s the headless patron-saint of France that we saw earlier; and third, a fragment of a bone of Saint Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris, whose church we saw the vestiges of when we were outside. Losing these irreplaceable relics would have been a real blow to the church.

However, the morning after the fire, one of the men tasked with securing the perimeter of the Ile de la Cite discovered the rooster – badly dinged up but still intact – on one of the side streets around the cathedral. Another miracle! The relics had survived the fire! If you can find it online, the photo of the man grinning ear-to-ear, hugging the giant rooster in the streets near Notre-Dame, is an incredible thing to see.

In December 2023, just before the new rooster was lifted up to take its place at the top of the spire, the bishop of the cathedral placed the small 1859 reliquary tube containing the three relics inside the belly of the new sculpture. So, a little bit of that 19th-century rooster lives here in the cathedral’s new memorial chapel, and another part lives inside the new rooster more than 300 feet above the cathedral square.

Now, turn to your right again and continue following the crowd back toward the crossing and the large rose windows.

A short way down, you may notice the entrance to the sacristy on your left. Entrance to the sacristy is paid, and there may be a short line to get in. But, if you’re interested in seeing the treasure of the cathedral – so, lots of beautiful gold and jewel-encrusted reliquaries and altar furnishings – you may wish to end the tour and go have a look inside. You can resume from where you left off once you're done. Either way, play the next location at the entrance. Read More

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Major Landmarks

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Getting There

Route Overview

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Start location
7 Parvis Notre-Dame - Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France
Total distance

0m
Final location
6 Quai du Marché Neuf - Maurice Grimaud, 75004 Paris, France
Distance back to start location

0m

Directions to Starting Point

The tour begins on the west side of the main square in front of the cathedral, just in front (to the east) of the entrance to the Archaeological Crypt of the Ile de la Cite. When facing the cathedral, the crypt should be just behind you, and you should see a large building called the Hotel Dieu to your left and the cathedral in front of you.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

Inside the church's sacristy, there is a small museum dedicated to the cathedral's treasure -- that is, its collection of elaborately-decorated gold altar furnishings, reliquaries, and other precious objects. There is a small entry fee. The location of the entrance to the space is indicated in the audio guide.

Best time of day

The cathedral is open from 8am to 7pm daily, and until 10pm on Thursdays. It is possible to listen to this audioguide any time the cathedral is open, though early mornings between 8 and 10am as well as Thursday nights from 6 to 10pm are ideal for beating the large crowds that gather during the day.

Precautions

The tour takes place primarily inside of the cathedral. There is a security check at the entrance, and no suitcases or other large bags are allowed inside the church. Additionally, men are asked to remove their hats when inside the building. Please be aware that this is a functioning church, so visitors are asked to behave respectfully (no loud talking, no photos with flash, no immodest clothing), especially when masses are taking place.

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