Skip to main content

Notre Dame Cathedral is reopening next month after years of restoration

The historic event will be live-streamed to those who can't make it in person.

By Amanda Teague Published November 29, 2024

Notre Dame — iankelsall1 / Pixabay

After years of restoration, Paris’ beloved Notre Dame Cathedral is set to reopen next month, marking a triumphant moment for the iconic monument after the devastating fire that partially destroyed it on April 15, 2019.

The grand reopening will begin on December 7, 2024, with a ceremony featuring a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron on the cathedral’s forecourt. The following day, December 8, the public will once again step inside the historic landmark, coinciding with an inaugural mass to consecrate its newly restored altar.

Recommended Videos

This moment comes after a massive global effort to rebuild the Gothic masterpiece, which has stood as a symbol of Paris for over 850 years. From its iconic spire to its intricate stonework, the restoration has brought together experts from around the world.

What to know if you’re planning on visiting the Notre Dame Cathedral

Notre Dame Cathedral — LeifLinding / Pixabay

The reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral will kick off with an invitation-only ceremony on December 7, 2024. While the event itself is restricted, it will be televised and streamed on social media, allowing viewers worldwide to witness this historic moment.

For the public, the first mass will take place on December 8, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. Reservations for this special mass can be made via the Notre Dame mobile app, social media platforms, or the cathedral’s official website.

With over 15 million visitors expected in the first year alone, Notre Dame is introducing a modernized booking system to handle the surge. An online portal and mobile app will soon allow visitors to secure time slots for a streamlined tour experience, free of charge. Walk-in visitors will still be welcomed, but the cathedral’s website advises that lines could be long due to high demand.

To accommodate visitors eager to see the restored landmark, Notre Dame will adopt staggered opening hours during its first weeks of operation:

December 8, 2024: 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
December 9-13, 2024: 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
December 14-15, 2024: 3:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

From December 16, 2024, the cathedral will resume its regular hours, opening daily from 7:45 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Contributor

Amanda, an accomplished freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, is a dedicated explorer of both the world and the written word…

Topics

Destinations

Culture

SailGP: The World’s Most Glamorous Sports League?

Formula 1 thrills, glamorous destinations, and plenty of Champagne.

Art, Water, Person

My dad is a diehard New England sports fan, and as a kid, I often worried I'd have to perform CPR on him whenever the Bruins, Patriots, or Red Sox were on television. As livid as a Viking berserker, the old man would leap off the sofa to coach Tom Brady from the living room or rain down curses upon the Yankees. Our cocker spaniel, Fenway, instinctively fled the room whenever my father reached for the remote. The stress of it all, plus the fact that I was missing episodes of South Park, soured me on professional sports.

I finally came around in my thirties, less for the sports themselves than for the spectacle and revelry. I can't name more than two Knicks players, but I had a blast watching the NBA Finals with my buddies at bars across New York. The nuances of Formula 1 are about as intelligible to me as multivariable calculus, but that didn't stop me from partying my face off on a press trip to the Miami Grand Prix. I also write about luxury watches, spirits, and travel—all of which dovetail rather nicely with grand athletic extravaganzas.

Travel

Savannah Beyond the Postcard

Take a look at one of the greatest southern cities from a different perspective.

Architecture, Building, Spire

Savannah is one of those cities that seems almost too easy to like. The live oaks are dramatic. The Spanish moss does exactly what it is supposed to do. The brick sidewalks buckle in all the right places. The houses look like they were designed by people who understood proportion, shade, and the value of a proper front step. Even the light seems to arrive with better manners than it does in most places.

I have a built-in advantage when it comes to Savannah. We have family there, so we have been back several times, not just once for the checklist version of the city. I have also done a photography workshop there, which is a terrific way to learn any city. You get up early, stay out late, and pay attention to alleys, doorways, ironwork, reflections, and the way a city changes when the tourists are still asleep.

Travel

I spent 72 hours in London with only a carry-on. Here’s how I did it in style

Luxury travel doesn't require a checked bag

London

Somewhere between the baggage claim carousel and the Elizabeth Line, I realized I'd already won. As passengers from my Norwegian flight to London crowded around the conveyor belt waiting for checked luggage to appear, I was already on my way into the city. Twenty minutes later, I was headed toward central London with nothing more than a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. I've become a bit of a carry-on evangelist over the past few years. Not because I'm trying to prove some minimalist point or because I enjoy seeing how few shirts I can survive with. I just genuinely think it's the better way to travel, especially for a long weekend in Europe.

My recent 72-hour trip from Copenhagen to London wasn't exactly a backpacker's itinerary. It included a stay at one of London's nicest luxury hotels, rooftop cocktails, dinners worth dressing up for, and plenty of walking through Soho, Covent Garden, and the rest of central London. Somehow, everything I needed fit inside my Travelpro Platinum Elite Slim Cabin Hardshell Spinner V2, with a backpack holding my flight essentials.