Renovated cathedral

Many hope for a glimpse inside Notre-Dame

Some die-hard fans braved the rain in Paris on Sunday morning to watch the inauguration mass of Notre-Dame(Bild: Imre Antal)

Saturday evening it was a stage for the whole world, on Sunday the faithful and super-fans of the cathedral took center stage at the reopening celebrations of Notre-Dame de Paris. If you want to see the reborn building, you have to plan well in advance - or be lucky.

It almost worked, but now Christina Ceppi and Michael Pfennig from Schaffhausen in Switzerland are standing in the rain after all. From Quai Saint-Michel on Sunday morning, the two look out over Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was officially opened the previous evening. "We already had the tickets, but then the site crashed," says Pfennig, who doesn't let this spoil his mood. "It will work next time," says the Swiss man, whose wife loves to spend her vacations in Paris.

A few hardy fans braved the rain in Paris on Sunday morning to watch the Notre-Dame inauguration mass.(Bild: Imre Antal)

Christina Ceppi from Switzerland came to Paris especially for the reopening.(Bild: Imre Antal)

The couple came especially for the opening and watched heads of state and government pay their respects to the cathedral on Saturday. On Sunday, Donald Trump, Jill Biden and Volodymyr Selenskyj left, the pomp and pageantry seemingly forgotten, instead it is mainly the faithful who are braving the cold and rain. A group of young students, for example: "We're here to see Notre-Dame. It's a big event," says Guilemette. "We are believers. We're going to see the inside of the cathedral as soon as possible, hopefully next week. We've been waiting five years for this."

Student Guilemette hopes to see the inside of the cathedral next week.(Bild: Imre Antal)

And Alain also has to be patient. He shows us a photo of his wife, who is sitting inside the cathedral at the same time. "She won the draw for tickets for our church," says the Parisian. "The reopening is great, for us French and also for the whole world."

Alain stands in the rain, his wife was lucky and was able to attend mass inside Notre-Dame(Bild: Imre Antal)

New altar consecrated
While Archbishop Laurent Ulrich consecrates the new bronze altar just two hundred meters away, Emily from Canada is also watching from outside. If you ask the young woman, who has just moved to Paris, about the cathedral, she won't stop talking: "I have more than a thousand Notre Dame-inspired things: jewelry, tattoos, furniture, bags ...", she lists. Her rucksack is shaped like the world-famous west façade and her phone case features Quasimodo, the Hunchback of Notre Dame. "I'm probably the biggest fan and I also offer private tours."

A cathedral says "Merci": the impressive opening ceremony on Saturday evening.(Bild: Imre Antal)

How to get into the cathedral now
When will "normal" tourists finally be able to take a look inside Europe's most visited building again? All places are already fully booked for the exhibition during the opening week until December 15. For normal visits, there is an online reservation system on the Notre Dame website that can be used to book a time slot.

However, patience is required. In principle, you can also come to the cathedral without a reservation and try your luck. However, with 40,000 visitors expected each day, the queues will be long.