Cathedral Notre Dame: Take a look inside five years after devastating fire - opening, how to book, when did it burn down?

The restored interior of Notre Dame Cathedral has been unveiled for the first time. It comes days before the Notre Dame's grand reopening on December 7.

Today (Friday 29 November), the French President Emmanuel Macron visited the cathedral, which has showed the inside of the famous cathedral. Mr Macron entered via the cathedral's giant and intricately carved front doors and stared up at the ceilings in wonder.

The occasion is Mr Macron's final visit to the construction site to see the restoration for himself before the famous monument's reopening for worship on December 8. The visit kicks off a series of events ushering in the reopening of the 12th-century Gothic masterpiece.

Mr Macron will return on December 7 to deliver an address and attend the consecration of the new altar during a solemn Mass the following day. Notre Dame will welcome back visitors and worshippers over the December 7-8 weekend after a sometimes challenging restoration to return to its former glory the great Paris cathedral badly damaged by the fire on 19 April 2019.

Macron at the time set the ambitious goal to rebuild Notre Dame within five years and make it “even more beautiful” than before, a target that the French authorities say has been met. All 2,000 people who contributed to the work of the construction of the Cathedral have been invited to next week's event, of whom at least 1,300 are expected to attend. World leaders are also expected to join but the guest list has yet to be unveiled.

The restoration cost a total of nearly 700 million euros. It was financed from the 846 million euros in donations that poured in from 150 countries in an unprecedented surge of solidarity. Unseen to visitors is a new mechanism to protect against any future fires, a discreet system of pipes ready to release millions of water droplets in case of a new disaster.

When will Notre-Dame reopen to the public?

The reopening to the public is scheduled for December 8, 2024, with a series of religious and cultural ceremonies throughout the week. On Sunday, a first mass will mark this historic event, followed by celebrations throughout the year up to June 2025, in connection with the jubilee year for pilgrims.

How do I book a visit?

A free reservation system will be set up via a dedicated application, accessible from the end of November. The 30-minute slots will be available from the day before your visit, to avoid scheduling bottlenecks.

For those wishing to pray or attend mass, a specific queue will be organized, although waiting may be possible depending on attendance. Even without a reservation, you'll still be able to get in, thanks to a queue that's sure to be full.

Is there a charge for admission?

While for a time there was talk of charging a five-euro entrance fee, it will remain free. Except for access to the Treasury, a separate area housing liturgical and historical objects, which will require a ticket.

Can we see the reopening on television?

The entire ceremony will be broadcast on France Télévisions, on mondovision, on December 7 for the ceremony, then in the evening and on the morning of December 8, as well as at 6:30 pm for the first mass open to the public. The reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris is eagerly awaited.