England and Paris: is there time to visit Notre Dame on our own?

[Momtastic]

Hi all,
We’d like to visit Notre Dame if possible during the Paris portion of the trip, and are trying to figure out where to squeeze it in. In looking at the itinerary, the second day in Paris is an “early evening and dinner on your own”. Someone on another thread mentioned being done around 4 pm that day, so I’m thinking there might be enough time on that day to make a short visit. It appears to be about a 10-15 min car ride from the hotel. Any thoughts on whether this might be doable if we were to plan for a later dinner?
Thanks!

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Traffic can be brutal in Paris.
We always allow lots of time between venues and departures.

 

[jimmymc]

4 pm will give you plenty of time to get over to Notre Dame. It looks like there are easy public transit options from the hotels.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Now that Notre Dame is open again, I wonder if ABD will consider adding it as part of their tours that include Paris. Has it ever been part of an ABD tour?

 

[OKW Lover]

Now that Notre Dame is open again, I wonder if ABD will consider adding it as part of their tours that include Paris. Has it ever been part of an ABD tour?

Yes, it was part of the ABD. We visited there before the fire. After the fire they substituted Sainte Chapelle.

 

[Dive Bar Casanova]

Pickpocket problems have gone up geometrically since this video. It’s an epidemic:

 

[pjacobi]

Both Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle are worth a visit.


-Paul

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We're looking at a potential Paris ABD trip in 26, hoping they get back to including Notre Dame. Guess we'll see the 26 itineraries in a couple months!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

Traffic can be brutal in Paris.
We always allow lots of time between venues and departures.

Last summer we went to Switzerland, Italy (all over), Paris (incl DL Paris), Jordan (all over), and Egypt (ABD). I've always heard that traffic in Cairo is notoriously chaotic, which it was, BUT we found the traffic in Paris to be worse! Granted we were there right before the Olympics so they had some streets blocked. We ubered everywhere (I don't like the Paris subway) and many of the larger intersections were absolutely gridlocked (it was fairly smooth sailing once we got onto the streets away from intersections). We were also in some bad traffic in Rome and Naples but that Paris traffic...

 

[YYC-adventurer]

Just did this adventure. While Notre Dame is not in the itinerary, our guides took us and assessed the size of the lines. Luckily they were "short" so they provided commentary along the lineup and stopped right before going in. I guess the final call was made by the ABD guides.
I am pretty sure one can still use some of the Latin Quarter free time (after the Louvre) to do this, but it was a great surprise that they were able to squeeze in.
Our adventure guides were SO great!

 

[Momtastic]

Just did this adventure. While Notre Dame is not in the itinerary, our guides took us and assessed the size of the lines. Luckily they were "short" so they provided commentary along the lineup and stopped right before going in. I guess the final call was made by the ABD guides.
I am pretty sure one can still use some of the Latin Quarter free time (after the Louvre) to do this, but it was a great surprise that they were able to squeeze in.
Our adventure guides were SO great!

This is great to know. I hope our guides can do something similar! If not, sounds like there is a good chance we will have time to do it on our own. Thanks for sharing this!

 

[Dennis Jay]

Absolutely, you should have enough time to visit Notre Dame if you finish around 4 pm. The 10-15 minute car ride is convenient, and visiting in the late afternoon can be a lovely experience as it’s less crowded. You could plan for a later dinner to give yourself ample time to explore and appreciate the area. Just be sure to check for any restrictions or updates on visiting hours beforehand. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Djm_in_buffalo]

Both Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle are worth a visit.


-Paul

Sainte Chapelle is gorgeous.


If it could help anyone…We’ve done on our own, with a guide, and also a strings concert there. The concert was really cool. The official source for concert tickets to that church/venue and others around the city is classictic.com