notre dame

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one of the required stops in paris is notre dame.  i decided to climb to the top since i had the museum pass for the tour to the top.  the church does not charge admission. 

the first thing i did at notre dame was walk around to the back of the church.  it was spectacular.  i cannot believe that i almost missed it!  i was looking for the line to go up to the towers in notre dame and ended up basically walking around the building.  the back of the church is just as spectacular as the front!  it has a lot more large interest.  the front is very detailed, but it is more intricate details. 

as you can see from these pictures, it was just before the storm hit.  if you look at the sky in the pictures below, it is pretty different from this beautiful blue!

i had to wait about a half hour to climb notre dame.  it was well worth the wait.  please note that it is about 400 steps up to the top with no handicap access.  i got in line around 1030 and was let up around 1105.  they allow people to go up and move around in batches.  the view was pretty fantastic.  it is the main reason to go up; other than the view, there is very little additional information about notre dame. 
loved this view of the seine

the tower in the background!


as you can see from this picture below, there is a lot of protection to keep people from jumping or falling.  while we were up, a pretty serious storm started blowing through.  that protection definitely added an extra layer of security!

the inside of notre dame was quite beautiful.  it seems to be in much better condition than the pantheon even though it is about 450 years older.  notre dame is celebrating its 850th birthday this year.  i was also impressed at how quickly they moved people into the church with no line outside.  i do wish more of the signs were translated into english.  i realize this would take up more space and is sort of a sign of a spoiled american tourist, but it does seem like french is a less common language.  
it might not be the "most beautiful" church in paris, but it is definitely the most grand and most recognized!  more translated signage would have taken this from an "A-" to a very solid "A!"

time in church: 1 hr
times visited: 1
overall: A-
Location: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris, 6 Place du Parvis Notre-Dame, 75004 Paris, France

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