One year on

On 8 December 2024 the cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris reopened after a five-year restoration following the devastating fire in 2019.

Almost exactly a year later, we were in Paris; while there we made a couple of visits to the cathedral – an evening visit to listen to an organ recital by Thibault Fajoles, and then a day time visit to properly inspect the renovated interior. The work done to restore the cathedral is truly stunning – everything that wasn’t rebuilt or replaced has had to be given an extensive clean to remove the lead dust (from the roof) that contaminated all the surfaces of the cathedral and its contents. So now the cathedral looks absolutely splendid, light and airy; and it is now very tastefully lit. This visit has banished the lasting impression I had, from a visit I made many years ago, of a very dark, dirty and dingy cathedral.
All 7952 pipes, 109 stops and 5 keyboards of the Grand Organ were completely disassembled – cleaned, the leather parts replaced, and then rebuilt. This is the largest organ in France – it sounded magnificent at the organ recital.

There remains ongoing exterior work and there is some scaffolding, a big crane and plywood hoardings in various places outside as the remaining work is brought to conclusion. The whole restoration project has been a magnificent example of French civic pride.