Notre-Dame de Paris has watched over generations of changing artistic tastes, political upheaval, and religious practices. On this walking tour, you’ll find out how the newly restored UNESCO World Heritage site has evolved through nearly nine centuries of construction, destruction, and rebirth – including its remarkable recovery from the devastating 2019 fire. Your guide on this audio tour is Lindsey Hansen, a Context Travel expert and art historian specializing in medieval French Gothic architecture. The tour starts in the square in front of the cathedral and takes you through its most significant spaces, including the central nave and the ambulatory chapels with their funerary monuments for France’s elite. During the tour, you’ll learn to spot the difference between original medieval elements, later additions, and recent restorations. The tour ends at the magnificent Grand Organ, where you’ll be taught to ”read” the cathedral’s complex history through its architecture – including its 12th-century foundations, its 19th-century restoration under Viollet-le-Duc, and its 21st-century rebirth. On this 90-minute tour, you’ll also have a chance to: • Marvel at the magnificent north and south rose windows, added in the 1260s to modernize the cathedral in the fashionable Rayonnant Gothic style • Study the exquisitely carved scenes from Christ’s life in a 14th-century choir screen that somehow survived centuries of destruction • View the Crown of Thorns reliquary, housing one of Christianity’s most sacred relics, which was dramatically rescued during the 2019 fire • Take in the Virgin of the Pillar, a sculpture from the 1800s that’s moved locations multiple times during the cathedral’s history • See the 19th-century rooster that topped the spire before it was damaged in the 2019 fire, and a crucifix with traces of molten lead from the burning roof • Learn about the cathedral’s monumental Grand Organ with its 8,000 pipes – a complex instrument representing six centuries of musical technology • Understand how the 2019-2024 restoration balanced historical authenticity with modern innovations, including a sophisticated fire suppression system hidden behind medieval facades This tour offers a rare opportunity to trace Notre-Dame’s 900-year evolution, from its medieval origins to its post-fire restoration.