NOTRE DAME, Façade

Now you know the history of Notre Dame, your visit to the cathedral begins with the main western facade, one of the most beautiful facades in Europe. Like most of the old churches in Paris, Notre-Dame is built according to the traditional orientation with a west-facing facade and east-facing rear, so the light hits the main altar at sunrise.

The cathedral is an exemplary model of the Gothic style, boasting extraordinary coherence of style and perfect harmony, although as I mentioned earlier, it took almost two centuries to complete. As you can see, much of its charm is down to the light stone, which brightens up the whole edifice. Note also the ingenious structural details such as the flying buttresses, which not only make the building look taller and lighter, but also contribute enormously to its magnificence, especially at the rear.

The twin square towers crowned with terraces that make the facade so recognizable are 69 meters high.

Imagine now that the cathedral is a great stone page to be read from the bottom up, rising from the ground to the sky, and with the figure of Mary, to whom it is consecrated, as its guiding principle....