Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris
Paris will host the Olympic games next summer, and the city's top spots, particularly its cultural institutions, are battening down the hatches. The city already announced that the famous riverside booksellers, the bouquinistes, will be relocated for the opening ceremonies. And now, within a few days of each other, both the Louvre and Notre Dame made some big announcements.
For a bit of optimism, the efforts to rebuild and renovate Notre Dame Cathedral only have a year left. When the cathedral’s roof and iconic spire went up in flames in April 2019, it felt almost unreal. Since then, the world has been closely following the reconstruction, from designs for a new spire to lost treasures rediscovered under the floor. Following the devastating fire, French President Emmanuel Macron promised the cathedral would reopen within five years. Even without COVID delays and safety hazards from the old roof’s lead lining, many thought the president’s expectations were unrealistic and overly optimistic. However, it seems like that promise is being kept. The world-famous Paris church is set to reopen its doors on December 8, 2024. Though it won’t be entirely ready in time for all the summer tourists and Olympic visitors, it will be a momentous affair regardless. Macron recently visited the worksite to view the newly built spire, where he thanked the construction workers and everyone else working on the structure. The scaffolding is now being removed from the interior while crews carefully clean the stone of any remaining dirt and soot. However, the work on the exterior will continue for several more years. Though the spire is nearly completed, the roof will require more time. Though initially Macron suggested the new spire should be of a more contemporary design, those ideas were later scrapped, with the new spire being a recreation of the one that burned down. However, there will be a few modern touches to the refurbished church. Macron previously announced that there will be a competition to choose the design for a series of new stained glass windows. One of the most interesting details is that the construction has used little public money. Rather, most of the €784 million spent on the project thus far is from donations. About half of the €1 billion raised after the fire came from three incredibly affluent French families: the Arnault, Bettencourt, and Pinault.
Visitors to Paris next year will be able to see Notre Dame complete with its new spire, but the Louvre announced some rather disappointing news. The Paris museum will raise ticket prices for the first time in seven years, going from €17 to €22 starting in January 2024, a nearly a 30% increase. This price hike is part of recent policy changes over the past several years, including a daily visitor cap and a two-year renovation plan. The Louvre is not the only organization raising prices in preparation for the Olympics. The Paris Metro, which now costs €2.10 per ride, will soon increase to €4. However, this only applies to single tickets rather than the Navigo metro cards locals tend to use. Laurence des Cars, president of the Louvre, says that the ticket price increase is meant to attract visitors. Specifically, the increase in price plus the visitor's cap might dissuade tourists from visiting, prompting more local Parisians to visit. The Louvre is free for all children and EU residents aged 26 and under. The new ticket price will also enable the museum to better handle its energy costs.