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There are audio guides available from reception that last 35
minutes and describe the spiritual message of this great cathedral through its history,
architecture, sculptures, windows, organs
and more. These are available in lots of different languages including French,
English, Japanese, German, Italian, Spanish, etc on a Monday to Saturday from 9.30am
through to 6pm and on Sundays from 1pm through to 6pm.
You can also have a guided visit, which is organised by the cathedral staff itself and
these are conducted in different languages on different days. For instance English
guided tours are normally provided on Wednesday at 2pm, Thursday at 2pm and a Saturday at
2.30pm, whereas Japanese guided tours are held on a Friday at 2pm except for the first
Friday of the month and every Friday during Lent.
And there are tours in other languages such as Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, etc that are
held at different times, however any guided tours can be cancelled if there is a special
occasion, such as when the Requiem Mass of Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger, archbishop
emeritus of Paris, which was held in the August of
2007.
There is also a religious article boutique located on the side of the nave, which is open
every day from 9.30am through to 6.30pm that has numerous items you can purchase such as
postcards, medals, charm necklaces, books, rosaries, and much more.
However, you can learn even more about the history
of Notre Dame with a visit to the Musee de
Notre Dame de Paris which is located only a very short walk away from the cathedral.
Mass and Services at the Notre Dame Cathedral
To attend services that are open to all, you would need to take any seat a few minutes
before the service, either in the nave, or in the choir for 8am and 9am masses during the
week, but you should be seated around ten to fifteen minutes before the Sunday or holiday
services are due to start.
On a Sunday all of the services are held at the main altar as follows:
8.30am - mass
9.30am - lauds service
10am - gregorian mass at the cathedral chapter
11.30am - international mass
12.45pm - mass
5.45pm - vespers service
6.30pm - mass which is usually conducted by the archbishop and often broadcast
live.
On weekdays they do differ slightly as follows:
8am - mass in the choir
9am - mass in the choir
noon - mass at the main altar
5.45pm - vespers service that is broadcast live on KTO-Catholic Television
Service
6.15pm - mass at the main altar
But please note that during the months of July and August there is not a mass at 9am on
a Monday to Saturday.
Tower Visit
The Notre Dame Cathedral tower visit is unfortunately not accessible for the disabled as
there is no lift, but for those fit enough to climb well over 350 steps experiencing the
upper parts of the western facade that date from the 13th century is an unforgettable
experience, although there is a small fee payable to do this.
You can go up the bell tower and see the magnificent bell that was saved from being melted
down and incredibly it used to take over twenty people to ring the bell due to its sheer
size and weight, but today this is done electronically and only sounds for Sunday Mass and
on special occasions.
Another major plus to climbing the spiral staircase of the bell tower are the fantastic up
close views of the gargoyles and chimera that you cannot see very well from ground level
and you can see the flying buttress architecture, plus you can venture even higher than
the tower where you have a fantastic view of Paris, especially at night when the city is
all lit up.
The entrance for the visit of the tower is located on the outside of the cathedral and as
you look at the entrance it is on the left-hand side of the facade, on Rue du Cloître
Notre-Dame.
The tower visit is open every day except for 25th December and 1st January with the last
access being 45 minutes prior to closing.
From April until September it is open from 10am through to 6.30pm, yet in June, July and
August on a Saturday and Sunday it is open from 10am through to 11pm. But from
October until the end of March it is open from 10am through to 5.30pm, and hope this is
not too confusing!
The Square
The square in front of the Notre Dame Cathedral became a focal centre of the French
resistance against the Nazi occupation and here they withstood a German seige with tanks
and guns for four days and if you look carefully at the walls of the square, you will find
plaques commemorating the brave Resistance fighters during World War II.
Also, in the square at the front of Notre Dame is a plaque that was put in place by André
Michelin, who was the founder of the Michelin tyre business and it is from this point that
all distances in France are measured as this is classed as point zero.
So whether you are visiting the Notre Dame de Paris
church on a pilgrimage or just as a tourist, this is a fascinating building, which has
become one of the very famous landmarks in Paris, if
not in the world, and is not to be missed on your holiday
to France.
Address & Contact Details:
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris
6 Parvis Notre-Dame
Place Jean-Paul II
75004
Paris
Telephone: 1 42 34 56 10 (Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 6pm plus a Saturday
and Sunday from 9am to 6pm)
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