Just a couple years ago, a visit to Paris would have been incomplete without a trip to Notre-Dame to see the rose window, the gargoyles and to peek for a glimpse of Quasimodo in the bell towers. Having stood for over 700 years and surviving the French revolution and world wars, Notre Dame is the hub from which Paris spins. However in April of 2019 the world stopped to watch, in horror, as the unthinkable occurred and Notre-Dame was nearly destroyed by an inadvertent fire during renovation. While the fire occurred over 1.5 years ago, just last month, the crumbled 200 tons of roof scaffolding that threatened to smash even more of the beloved cathedral was finally completely removed. Now, and for many years to come, visitors and residents of Paris can only glimpse her grand façade from behind construction barriers.

So, I decided to short stroll back, during this time travel restrictions, and relive seeing Notre Dame prior to the decimating fire.

2013 Visit

My first visit to Notre Dame (and Paris) was a whirlwind. A work colleague and I had planned a 8-hour layover in Paris on the way to a UK veterinary show in early April. Arriving on the train from the airport to Saint Michel station, we popped up above ground and quickly made our way across the bridge to Ile de la Cite and in a few more steps to Notre Dame Cathedral. The day was just beginning and it was literally freezing outside. With no tourist lines, we took our outside front façade photos but the chilly weather drove us to ask for “sanctuary” inside to warm up.

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Family 2016

While I have always enjoyed sharing traveling adventures with colleagues, I prefer to enjoy travel with family. Seeing things especially through my my kids eyes brings a smile to my face knowing that we are making memories for a lifetime. Growing up in Kansas in a middle income family, I never saw much beyond the surrounding states. It wasn’t until my late 30’s that I really started seeing a bit of the world, so being able to use my accumulated airline points to allow kids to travel to Europe I hoped both opened their eyes to more than just the US and planted the travel bug in them.

This time Paris was about 30+ degrees warmer, but it had rained extensively so the Louvre was closed due to flooding in Paris and the Seine’s high water level. Still Notre-Dame welcomed the family. My wife fell in love with the rose windows and we have a mini-replica shining in one of our home windows. Notre Dame was busier this time but the line moved quickly and soon I was back inside for another look around.

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Sad September 2019

My wife and I went to Paris for a anniversary trip this time sans kids. We enjoyed relaxing in Paris without the phrenic pace of a vacation cramming everything possible into too few days combined with managing 4 girls. While we wouldn’t know what to do without them, we do appreciate a little “us” time. This trip we were able to see the Louvre and other museums would couldn’t see previously, and but we were both saddened to see the charred roof of Notre Dame and all the support structures helping to prevent further collapse. I hope to return and see the Cathedral again after all the repairs are done to climb the bell towers and take in the views from the new roof.

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I hope you have your own memories of visiting Notre Dame or if you haven’t yet made the trip you enjoyed seeing a few images of mine. I can’t wait to be able to travel again and to see the sights around the world. You never know when in the blink of an eye the world can change. For me the big ones are Challenger loss, the World Trade Center terrorism of 9-11 and the fire of Notre-Dame.

Feel free to comment and I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions!