Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral is the heart of Paris and for sure the first place to visit in Paris. It is highly recommended to start your walk from here , since the history of Paris began here on the Ile de la Cité.
The cathedral was built for 87 years from 1163 to 1345. The Notre Dame’s towers reach 69 m in height, the width of the cathedral is 48 m and the length is 128 m. The Gothic architectural style was an innovation at that time. In the Romanesque era, buildings were powerful, and has fortified construction, with small windows that letting in only a small amount of light. The purpose of such a structure was protection from numerous raids and the reliability of the building. But over time, architects wanted that cathedrals will enter more light, and buildings seemed more airy, and taller. One of the solutions was arc-boutants and buttresses, if, in simple terms, these are props that carry the weight of the walls and transfer it the ground. As a support structures.
The first cathedral in the Gothic style was Saint Denis Cathedral (a suburb of Paris), after which began the construction of Notre Dame de Paris and many others.
There is free entrance to the cathedral of Notre Dame, you need a ticket if you wanna go to the crypt. Unfortunately, because of fire in 2019 Notre Dame closed to restoration and will reopen in 2024.
We hope so.
Let’s not get too distracted by the history, since it’s time for us to capture a couple of sketches.
Not a sketcher? No worries, skip to next part “4 things to do near Notre Dame de Paris”. And by the way you can always join and start to sketch.
Best location to sketch near Notre Dame de Paris
Petit pont –
The bridge offers a full-length view of the cathedrals Notre Dame western façade, showing the entrance and towers. Just put the sketchbook on the railing and capture it on paper. Amazing view on Notre Dame de Paris, at daylight and night.
Fontaine de la Vierge –
In the park next to the fountain, we can observe the eastern façade of Notre Dame, the arc-boutants and buttresses mentioned earlier are clearly visible. Great view for sketching.
4 places to visit near Notre Dame de Paris
Sainte Chapelle –
is a gothic cathedral with a stunning interior and stained glass windows. Sometimes there is acoustic concerts. So you better check here and plan your visit.
The Conciergerie –
is a former castle of the French kings and a prison. Tickets can be purchased here.
The flower market of Elizabeth II –
flower and bird market is located on Louis Lepin Square. The market has existed since 1808. Open daily from 8:00 to 19:30, bird trade only on Sundays.
Place Dauphine –
is a historic square in the center of Paris. The square was created during the reign of Henry IV, his equestrian statue is located near the square. Triangular in plan, the square is 102 meters long and 67 meters wide. If you want Instagram ready photos from Paris, then visit Place Dauphine.
Restaurants near Notre Dame de Paris
I’m pretty sure that you are hungry now, after all you walk around quite a bit. There is so many good and great restaurants close to Notre Dame de Paris. So I picked up those I liked. Especially if you are looking for French cuisine;
Maison Paul –
Delicious and tasteful lunch or dinnertime. The waitresses are very friendly and make a nice chit-chat. Highly recommend duck confit, medallions of veal with cream and mushroom sauce, and of course snails and beef tartare!
You can reserve a table here.
La Crème de Paris Notre-Dame –
Dessert time? Old-fashioned crêperie with ice creams, pancakes & waffles are served at La Crème de Paris Notre-Dame. Nice view on Notre Dame de Paris, if you can take a sit. Place a bit busy but worth it every time I visit Paris. The staff is friendly and they all speak English! By the way there is gluten-free options.
Museums near Notre Dame de Paris
Ready for more cultural discoveries? Here is couple of interesting museums near Notre Dame.
Louvre Museum –
Some one can claim, that Louvre museum is best art and historical museum in the world, but it definitely the best museum to visit in Paris. Located in palace with reach history that begins in medieval age. Louvre became world’s famous and has one of the biggest art collection. Art collection counts a hundreds of thousands pieces from 5000 AD to nova days. I’ll tell you more about Louvre in my next post.
By your ticket in advance on official site to avoid rip-off, and arrive an hour before your time for security check.
Cluny Museum –
My be the most underrated museum in Paris is Cluny Museum. National museum of the middle ages located in the center of the Latin Quarter, in a 15th-century monastery building.
Museum de Cluny has pretty big permanent exhibition and exchanging temporary exhibition.
Check on the official site.
Musée national Eugène Delacroix
Museum apartment of famous Eugene Delacroix. Among his works are “Liberty leading the people” that you can see at Louvre Museum. Delacroix was leader of the French Romantic school.
Personally I very enjoyed to visit this studio-museum. By the way it was his own apartments, an you literally can fill this great energy and get inspired by Eugene’s sketches and paintings.
Plan your visit – official site.
