Notre Dame

3. Notre Dame

Metro: Cité or St. Michel Bus: Les Cars Rouges & Open Tour bus. Official Website: Cathedraledeparis.com
One of the best loved sights in Paris, immortalised by Victor Hugo in his novel Notre Dame de Paris
Pope Alexander III laid the first stone in 1163, starting the 170 construction project by armies of Gothic and Medieval Craftsmen.
Notre Dame is nearly always busy but fortunately the flow through the Cathedral is generally steady and therefore the queues are kept at a managable length.

It is possible to ascend the twin towers which are so imposing on your approach to Notre Dame, although this can mean queuing for 20 mins to 1 hour depending on the time of year and day that you visit.
The view from the top is spectacular giving you a view over the square at the fron of the Cathederal, the River and great views of the statues on the roof of the main building.

Notre Dame Rose Window

Inside the view is equally as impressive, in particular the North and South Rose Windows are worth special mention, they’re about halfway down the length of the main building and are an impressive 13 mtrs in height.
Opening times: 8 am – 6.45 pm daily, towers – 9.30 am – 5.30pm (Winter) 6.00 pm (Summer). The Cathedral is free although there is a small charge for the Towers.

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With so much to see in Paris, the best way to orientate yourself is to jump on one of the Tourist Buses that do the rounds every day.

For my Money, the best service if you want to see all the usual suspects is Les Cars Rouges. At the time of writing, a 2 day ticket costs 24 Euros and if you book on line you can save 10%.

The other service is L’Open Tour which has three routes with interconnecting points. This is great for a second or subsequent visit as the routes are more comprehensive, bear in mind that Les Cars Rouge is a more compact tour which will allow you to see the most popular attractions.

Both services allow you to get on and off at any stop during the route and actually, this facility can save you money on using the Metro.

The Metro, Paris’ under ground railway is really easy to use, the routes generally run North – South, East – West and the lines are identified by numbers. It is possible to buy a ticket for inclusive travel for a number of days but if you’re going to use the Tour Buses, you probably should buy a “Carnet” (Pron: Car nay) which is a bunch of Ten single use tickets which can be used on the Metro or the City Buses.

Next time… We’ll take a look at some of the popular sights of the City.

Paris Insider Tip: why not consider staying a Hostel if you’d like to save money on accommodation, click here for a great range of Low Cost Quality Hostels..

Until then.. Au revoir.

Find and book Paris tours and activities on Viator.com. Book ahead to save time and money!

There’s so much to do in Paris and so many things to see but, before you head off, take time, find a small Café order “un Café” and observe.

Thing that continues to amaze me is how different the City is from London, there’s somehow a slower pace but at the same time a great bustle with people going about their business and not looking particularly stressed. That, to me is the essence of Paris… urban cool, stylish, relaxed, no wonder it’s so popular with us Tourists.

Next time… the best way to get to grips with the City.