Photos from Notre-Dame in Paris
Built at the very heart of Paris, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame never seemed to be far away on our recent weekend in Paris. If I’m counting, we must have passed the cathedral or caught sight of it at least ten times as we made our way around Paris. As we arrived in Paris, this was where the train left us and the Metro picked us up after our flight to Paris with Air France on Friday night. We didn’t go into the cathedral as we had other things we wanted to see and I was feeling a bit dismissive of tourist traps and tick list sightseeing. Now I rather wish I had braved the crowds and taken a look around as Notre-Dame seems to hold a power over the Seine and the city and to draw you in. I’d like to share with you a few photos of Notre Dame in Paris and the different views that I enjoyed as we wandered around the Cathedral.
Update April 2019: After the terrible fire, I hope these photos of Notre Dame will help us remember the cathedral in all its beauty, as the foremost Catholic church in France, the heart of Paris and a place of special significance for the French people.
Our first pass of Notre-Dame was on our way to Ile St Louis where an old friend has a gallery on Rue Saint-Louis de l’Ile called Galerie Kara, selling elegant sculpture, jewellery and artizan pieces from India, Nepal and other parts of Asia. We walked past the imposing western facade of Notre-Dame where crowds of tourists were gathering and a queue was snaking its way into the Cathedral which is free to visit.
It was slightly disappointed that the garden immediately in front of the cathedral was fenced off making it look something of a building site. Otherwise the cathedral which dates back to the 12th century was looking beautifully preserved with the white stone that was quarried nearby on the Left Bank looking pristine, as a result of a 10 year cleaning project.
Looking up as we passed the Western facade, I paused to take a photo of the carved stonework, the figures of the 28 Kings of Judah and Israel looking down on us, which had to be replaced after being destroyed during the French Revolution, and the arched portal with carvings showing the Last Judgement.
Down the north side of the cathedral we passed another queue to visit the tower and upper parts of the western facade. Behind the cathedral we walked through the pretty square of Jean XXIII where groups of scouts were sitting having a picnic on their day out and we could get the best view of the flying buttresses that were built to support the chancel of the cathedral.
One of the places I particularly wanted to visit was Maison de Victor Hugo, the former apartment of the famous French author in the lovely Place des Vosges. His famous Gothic novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was published in 1831 and tells the story of the hunchback, Quasimodo, who is the cathedral bell-ringer and falls in love with the beautiful gypsy singer Esmeralda. Walking back we followed the Canal Saint-Martin from Bastille and took the peaceful footpath beside the Seine, from where we could look back along the river towards Notre-Dame on the Île de la Cité.
We walked quite a way before we found a place that we could cross at Pont de Tolbiac and made our way on the Rive Gauche back along Quai d’Austerlitz with the winter sun lighting up the buildings by the river and the sightseeing boats passing up and down.
Our walk back took us past Pont de l’Archevêché, a footbridge that crosses to Ile de la Cite which is known for the padlocks that now encrust the wire fencing of the bridge like barnacles clinging to the rocks. These ‘love locks’ which are found on a number of bridges around the world, like the Ponte Milvio in Rome, and are there to symbolise eternal love. Lovers write their names on the padlock, attach it to the bridge and then toss the key into the river, so that the lock can never be removed (until the local council makes an occasional purge on grounds of architectural damage or some other unromantic pretext.)
Our walk continued, past the booksellers on Quai de Montebello until it was getting too late and we hopped on the Metro to take us back to our Hotel Pullman Montparnasse as we had an evening engagement. Having been impressed by the size and power of Notre-Dame from so many different directions I won’t be so quick to dismiss it as a tourist trap – perhaps on my next visit to Paris I’ll even take a look inside.
Milena Yordanova
Friday 25th of July 2014
Great photos! The Cathedral of Notre-Dame is beautiful from outside, but from inside is just stunning. Next time you visit Paris, don't miss to take a look inside the cathedral. :)
Kathryn Burrington
Saturday 4th of January 2014
Ahh.. Paris.. nothing beats it! :-)
Heather Cowper
Sunday 5th of January 2014
@Kat Yes Paris is growing on me
Hels
Saturday 28th of December 2013
I have been inside both of Victor Hugo's other residences, but never inside his home in Place des Vosges. Your reference to Maisons Victor Hugo is wonderful.
I realise your post was mainly about Notre Dame, but in the bloggy world we find treasures and links in all sorts of places. Many thanks Hels http://melbourneblogger.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/victor-hugos-house-museums.html
Heather Cowper
Saturday 28th of December 2013
@Hels - I'll be writing something about our visit to Maison Victor Hugo in a future post I hope, it was beautiful and very interesting although I think Hauteville House in Guernsey had the edge