By Kielce Gussie
Five years after a fire destroyed the famed Parisian Cathedral of Notre Dame, its doors opened for pilgrims and visitors to once again marvel at its French Gothic architecture. Now, six months since the reopening on Dec 7, 2024, a total of 6,015,000 people have gone through the Cathedral’s doors, as of Jun 30, 2025.
On Jul 6, the French newspaper, La Tribune Dimanche, reported that, on average, 35,000 people visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame each day.
If the numbers continue on this path, attendance could reach 12 million by the end of 2025, which means it would knock the Eiffel Tower out of the top spot for most visited monuments in France. This figure would also exceed the pre-fire numbers when 11 million people visited the Cathedral each year.
Work is far from finished
However, work on the Cathedral is far from complete. Prior to the fire, restoration was scheduled for the chevet, the flying buttresses, and the Viollet-le-Duc’s sacristy. Plans for new stained-glass windows to be installed are set for 2026 and the Cathedral’s forecourt, green spaces, and front walkway are all slated for renovation, which will be finished in 2027. – Vatican News
