Tour Details
Duration
3 hours
Product Type
Tour
Venues
- Notre Dame Cathedral
- Conciergerie
- Musée de Cluny
Photos & Highlights
- Embark on a journey through the heart of gothic Paris, exploring the architectural wonders of Île de la Cité and the Left Bank
- Let us tailor this private experience to your interests and needs
Select a date
Tour Description
Flying buttresses, sculpted portals, and shifting light await in the newly renovated Notre Dame. Together with your expert, you’ll learn how to read this monumental cathedral through its materials, design choices, and architectural marvels, uncovering centuries of ingenuity while revealing traces of fires, wars, and renovations of the past.
Gothic architecture defines the heart of Paris. And while Notre Dame may be one of the city’s main Gothic masterpieces, it’s joined by hundreds of other notable buildings and monuments.
After visiting the cathedral on our Notre Dame Tour in Paris, your expert will lead you to a few of these additional key sites. Along the way, Gothic architecture stops being a style and becomes a story. You begin to understand how Paris grew around belief, power, and ingenuity, and how these medieval choices still shape the city today.
Depending on availability, the stunning tapestries and sculptures of the Musée de Cluny or the breathtaking arches and intriguing tales of the Conciergerie will complete your exploration of Gothic Paris.
You’ll leave having borne witness to the beauty of one of the world’s most magnificent examples of Gothic architecture, while also understanding that Paris’ Gothic buildings and monuments express a unique way of thinking about light, faith, and the place of humanity within the greater universe.
Choose this tour if…
- You want to witness the transformation of Paris’s iconic cathedral following the devastating fire.
- You’re fascinated by historic preservation and eager to learn how experts are restoring a 12th-century landmark.
- You're keen to dust off long-dormant memories of Art History 101 and see Gothic architecture anew—this time through the eyes of a specialist.
Experts
Begin by setting the scene for Gothic architecture, born near Paris in the 12th century and driven by a new ambition for light, height, and meaning. From the intimate Gothic spaces of the Latin Quarter, you trace the emergence of ribbed vaults, pointed arches, and the rhythms that would soon transform the city.
Your journey leads you to Notre-Dame de Paris, the heart of Gothic ambition. On the parvis, you decode the cathedral’s sculpted façades, rose windows, gargoyles, and flying buttresses, uncovering how architecture became a language of faith, power, and engineering mastery. Step inside to experience the restored interior, where light and stone still work their medieval magic.
Leaving behind the crowds of Notre Dame, continue with one of two complementary perspectives on medieval Paris.
Depending on the day of the week, some tours will visit the Musée de Cluny, where sculpture, stained glass, and everyday objects bring Gothic art back to a human scale, revealing how sacred ideals shaped daily life in medieval Paris. Others will enter the Conciergerie, once a royal palace and later a revolutionary prison. Here, Gothic architecture takes on a secular voice in vast medieval halls built for kings, guards, and justice, before descending into the stark cells that witnessed the final days of Marie Antoinette and countless others.
Depending on the day of the week, some tours will visit the Musée de Cluny, where sculpture, stained glass, and everyday objects bring Gothic art back to a human scale, revealing how sacred ideals shaped daily life in medieval Paris. Others will enter the Conciergerie, once a royal palace and later a revolutionary prison. Here, Gothic architecture takes on a secular voice in vast medieval halls built for kings, guards, and justice, before descending into the stark cells that witnessed the final days of Marie Antoinette and countless others.
Leave with a clear understanding of Gothic architecture’s defining features and a deeper sense of how Notre-Dame and its surrounding monuments express the religious, political, and artistic forces that shaped medieval Paris.
Will we visit the interior of Notre Dame on the tour?
Our itinerary will include the interior of Notre Dame, though please note we will not have skip-the-line access. The line moves quickly and we will use the time to speak about the exterior and introduce certain themes for the interior visit.
Does this tour include climbing the bell towers of Notre Dame? Will we visit the crypt?
While this tour explores many corners and aspects of Notre Dame, it will not visit the bell towers or the crypt.
Where do we meet? Where does it end?
The tour begins near Place Saint-Michel. Your confirmation email will have the exact meeting point details along with a map. The tour typically ends on the Ile de la Cité or at the Musée de Cluny.
Will you pre-purchase tickets?
We pre-purchase tickets to the secondary venue, either the Conciergerie or the Musée de Cluny. Tickets are not needed to access Notre Dame.
Can I use the Museum Pass?
Unfortunately, the Museum Pass cannot be used for this tour. Tickets are mandatory and cannot be canceled or modified.
Is this tour good for kids and teens?
Yes! We have some excellent family-friendly guides who can appeal to the learning styles of children. We have a separate Notre Dame and Gothic Paris for Kids tour just for families with children 12 and under. When booking, please provide us with information about your children, such as their favorite school subjects and hobbies. This way we can match you with the best possible guide.
Book with confidence — see Context's flexible cancellation policy here.
Where You'll Start
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524 Reviews
Reviews can only be left by Context customers after they have completed a tour. For more information about our reviews, please see our FAQ.
Sean was the perfect guide for our tour (by my daughter Jane and me) of 3 sites on the Ile de la Cite. Before the fire, on visits to Notre Dame, I loved to sit in the center of the crossing, between the 2 brilliant transept windows, enjoying the mystery afforded by the dustiness and gloom. Now that the cathedral has been cleaned and spiffied up, I needed a new introduction. Sean, with his knowledge and appreciation of the cathedral's past, and an optimistic view of it as a living, evolving entity, provided just that. In the Ste. Chapelle, because of the sheer brilliance of the windows and my non-artistic background, I had never noticed fine details within the stained glass, important to the artists who made them, now pointed out to us by Sean. The Conciergerie offered its own brand of gloom. Sean, like the other 4 Context guides on this trip, had at his fingertips the knowledge of the academician and the ability to communicate it, along with a warmth and friendliness so nice to find in the companion of a morning. Thanks from Jane and me, Sean. Ina Avrich
Ina
Reviewed on:
Jan 5, 2026
We had a delightful and educational tour with Doina, as she provided us with her knowledge and insights that offered us the opportunity to revisit Saint Chapelle and to explore the restored Notre Dame with her expertise and passion beside us.
Larry
Reviewed on:
Jan 2, 2026
Our tour with Achille was outstanding and just what we wanted. The historical, political and artistic context was pitch perfect for both visits to Sainte Chapelle and the beautifully restored Notre Dame.
Sheila
Reviewed on:
Dec 30, 2025
