Further update on Notre Dame Cathedral

[mspath]

A special tv emission
with President Macron at Notre Dame Cathedral will be broadcast live world-wide beginning at 09:30 local Paris time this Friday November 29, 2024.

 

[bullingtonce]

A special tv emission
with President Macron at Notre Dame Cathedral will be broadcast live world-wide beginning at 09:30 local Paris time this Friday November 29, 2024.

Thank you for taking the time to post such a good and in-depth report.

 

[Kathor1]

A special tv emission
with President Macron at Notre Dame Cathedral will be broadcast live world-wide beginning at 09:30 local Paris time this Friday November 29, 2024.

Thank you, @mspath, to alert us to yesterday's TV broadcast.

I missed the live transmission but watched the recording on YouTube. The inside of Notre Dame looks fabulous. And the president's group had it all to themselves with the archbishop and another person as guides. The new modern reliquary for Louis IX's precious relic, the Crown of Thorns, looks splendid. The relic was not yet on display. I wonder whether it will be on display all the time in future or only on special occasions as in the past. It made me smile when the archbishop explained that there are no thorns left - all of them have been given as gifts to various recipients over the centuries.

The question now is when to visit and avoid the biggest crowds. I hope perhaps in early January ...?

 

[mspath]

Indeed. My husband and I also watched the special transmission all morning. How wonderful it was to see the renewed splendor.
What we saw I shall always treasure for a multitude of personal/ professional reasons. ...Many French accounts suggest visits in early spring but before Easter.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Some other web surfing today starting at the Vatican brought me to Sainte-Chapelle at the other end of the Île de la Cité. The Crown of Thorns is mentioned a number of times in the first half of this video because, according to the narrators, the chapel was built to house and show off the relic. The second half of the video goes into the chapel's architecture. If you plan on visiting Notre Dame maybe add a trip to Sainte-Chapelle too.

 

[bergmannfamily]

The repairs and renovation of the interior are just beautiful. I can't wait to see it. It now appears to have the brightness of the Sagrada Familia.

My bucket list camino would start at Notre Dame, and the tower of St James.

 

[Camino Chrissy]

If you plan on visiting Notre Dame maybe add a trip to Sainte-Chapelle too.

When I visited Paris several years ago, I also visited Saint-Chapelle cathedral while I was in the city. It is very bright inside because of the vast amount of colorful stained glass; not dark and dank as many cathedrals often are.

 

[Mycroft]

It is stunning to see the interior so clean! The few times I have attended Mass in Notre Dame the centuries of accumulated soot and oils darkened the walls. It is a thrill to imagine how this restoration has made it look similar to what folks experienced, going in when it was first built.

 

[Blintintin]

Some other web surfing today starting at the Vatican brought me to Sainte-Chapelle at the other end of the Île de la Cité. The Crown of Thorns is mentioned a number of times in the first half of this video because, according to the narrators, the chapel was built to house and show off the relic. The second half of the video goes into the chapel's architecture. If you plan on visiting Notre Dame maybe add a trip to Sainte-Chapelle too.

Sainte Chapelle is indeed beautiful... It offered (many years ago, mind you) short evening concerts (classical, string quartet or similar) for about 25Euro, with tickets sold at a table outside exit of Sainte Chapelle. It was one of the most beautiful settings for such a concert. I'd highly recommend.

 

[Kathor1]

Many French accounts suggest visits in early spring but before Easter

This is probably very good advice but I don’t know whether I want to wait this long.

As to the Crown of Thorns, I can now answer my own question, as I found it on the website for Notre Dame which is excellent and full of relevant information about December and the coming months until Whitsun when the re-opening period for Notre Dame de Paris will end. There is now also an online registration system, free of charge, where one can get a ticket with a time window for the visit.

Veneration of the Crown of Thorns​

Every Friday from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM until June 2025.​

Starting July 2025, every first Friday of the month.​

At other times the relic will not be visible I think. I’ve never seen it and did not even know about it when I visited many years ago. Since then I’ve seen the Cathedral only from the outside, the last time a year ago when I walked along the rue Saint-Jacques which I always like to do and then beyond to the Gare du Nord.