For the last thousand years Notre Dame has been the living heart of not just Paris but of France as a whole. Indeed it’s the point from which every distance in the country is measured. Brought to life by Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, this grand cathedral with its flying buttresses and leering gargoyles is a familiar sight for even first-time visitors to Paris. So what better way to kick-start your vacation than one of our Notre Dame tours?
Our tour begins on Ile de la Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine River. This tiny space has been home to kings, numerous revolutions and the city’s famous gargoyles. Lorded over by the imposing bell towers and razor sharp spires of Notre Dame, this is quintessential Paris in a perfectly preserved bubble.
Follow your English-speaking guide on a tour of Parisian history, through the picturesque streets of Ilé de la Cité and into the cathedral itself. Here you will be surprised by the simultaneously sparse yet somehow extravagant interior of Notre Dame. Marvel at the bare grey arches, the kaleidoscopic stained glass windows and the immense organ. As beautiful as it is intimidating, France’s premier cathedral is a truly unique, sometimes contradictory monument to craftsmanship and medieval planning. Our Notre Dame tours bring all this to life, pointing out details and explaining architectural features you may never have noticed alone.
For the icing on the cake, skip lines that often stretch for hours and, in your own time, climb the 411 steps up to the Notre Dame Tower. Follow in the footsteps of the Hunchback of Notre Dame as you duck into the bell tower and gaze upon a gargoyle’s-view of Paris, unquestionably one of the city’s best vistas.
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