People have been coming to Paris for almost 800 years to visit the Gothic masterpiece that is Notre Dame Cathedral. Like many before me I went in search of not only a glimpse of a building but also in the hope of uncovering some of the stories behind it, from its famous stained glass to the gargoyles that perch on its towers. Luckily I was to have a little help. I was going on a Notre Dame tour guided by Eve, a medieval history student who was also going to show us around the rest of Ile de la Cité, a small island in the centre of the Seine river which is the birthplace of Paris and home to the beautiful cathedral.

We met in front of the Cité metro stop and our tour started immediately. Cité is the most photographed stop on the Paris subway system and a perfect example of art deco architecture. Next it was onto spots that were a little older. Eve introduced us to La Chapelle, a royal chapel which boasts some of the best stained glass windows in Europe and to the Conciergeire, a medieval hall where Marie Antoinette was kept prisoner before she was executed. She also showed us bullet holes left from the liberation of Paris during WWII, and the place where resistance fighters finally rose up against Nazi rule in 1944.

Lovely Ile de la Cité

Finally it was on to the main attraction. The façade of Notre Dame is part of what makes the cathedral so distinctive, but most people simply glance up at the numerous carvings before heading for the interior – myself included on my first visit. Not so this time. I was fascinated as Eve explained in detail about many of the carvings found on the front, pointing out small details I had previously missed. The Door of Judgement, where a small devil drags souls to hell; the Headless Priest, now patron saint of Paris; and the Gallery of the Kings that were beheaded during the French revolution, the remains of which have a very interesting story.

The interior of Notre Dame however is what it’s most famous for and you can’t help looking up as soon as you enter. Slender columns punctuated by brilliant stained glass windows give the interior a colourful glow and despite the amount of tourists inside, the cathedral somehow maintained a quiet, spiritual atmosphere. While we admired the cathedral Eve described the finer points of Gothic architecture, how it changed during the cathedral’s construction and how the last major renovation, under Violet le Duc, after the French Revolution, is responsible for how much of the cathedral looks today.

Notre Dame's famous stained glass

Despite being a subject I knew little about (and one about which Eve is clearly passionate) she managed to share information in a way that I could understand. For two hours she kept the whole group entertained with anecdotes and interesting facts about Notre Dame. For example, did you know that it was used as a storehouse during the French Revolution; that Napoleon I crowned himself Emperor of France here; that Victor Hugo’s famous novel, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, was written to help save the cathedral from destruction; or that Charles de Gaulle was almost shot by an assassin here after Paris had been liberated during WWII? No? Neither did I but after a few hours with Eve I knew all of this and a lot more.

The highlight of the trip was, without a shadow of a doubt, the dramatic closing. After we had toured the numerous chapels of Notre Dame and taken as many pictures as we wanted, Eve led us back out of the cathedral and around to the left. Here a queue stretched back as far as we could see. Being summer, people were forced to wait over two hours to gain access to the stairway that we entered in only a few minutes. Thank God for skip the line access! A mere 400 steps later (there are no elevators) we were standing on what felt like the top if Paris. At the top of the Towers of Notre Dame we were able to get up close to the gargoyles that we had seen from below. As it turns out, the closer you get the more gruesome they become – one was even in the process of ripping off the head of another creature. But what exactly are they here for? Well, the answer is definitely not what I expected. You’ll hear about it of course if you go on the tour.

What's eating him?

Eve also brought us to visit Emmanuel, the cathedral’s 13 tonne bell. Regardless of what the Hunchback of Notre Dame would have us believe, Emmanuel only rings for significant events such as the death of a Pope.

Of course the Towers of Notre Dame are really all about the views, which we appreciated first from the gargoyle’s point-of-view and then from a staggering height of 226 feet on the South Tower. From this height I finally understood the magnitude of Paris. The Eiffel Tower up ahead, Sacre Coeur rising on a crest to the right, the Seine cutting its way through the heart of the city. Spread out like a carpet beneath us, Paris was a dazzling sight of smooth white granite buildings and grey roofs – perfect in its uniformity. While we admired the view, the tour continued as Eve pointed out yet more sights to us and filled our heads with more of the city’s fascinating history.

Inevitably, the time came where we had to leave the views behind and tackle the steps again. Going down was much easier of course. As we said goodbye to Eve at the base of the towers I took another look at the façade, its carvings, the gargoyles and the famous towers, feeling somewhat special to know the stories behind this iconic building. The only question I had left was why had it taken me to long to do a tour like this?