1- The cathedral was built between 1163 and 1345.
2- Victor Hugo used the cathedral as a setting for his 1831 novel, “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame.”
3- The twin towers go as high as 69 meters (387 steps). The south tower houses the 13 ton Emmanuel bell.
4- Notre Dame is located on the Paris Island called Ile de la Cite, which concentrated the power attributes of France between the 4th and the 14th century.
5-The best time to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral is early in the morning, between Tuesday and Friday.
6- The South tower is home to Notre Dame’s largest bell, weighs 13 tons (28,000 pounds) and it is known as the Emmanuel Bell.
7- Notre Dame is 130 meters long, 48 meters wide, 35 meters high. The rose windows have a diameter of 10 meters. The cathedrals pillars have a diameter of 5 meters.
8-The Crown of Thorns is kept at Notre Dame, along with one of the Holy Nails, and a fragment of the True Cross.
9- Notre Dame Cathedral is located in Paris, France on the Ile de la Cite, the very heart of the city.
10- Notre Dame is still a functioning Catholic church and the site of many important religious and ceremonial events.
11- Access to the cathedral is open and free of charge every day of the year, during the opening hours.
12- The 387 steps up to the towers take visitors past the gallery of chimeras, mythical creatures typically composed of more than one animal. The most famous of these, the “Stryge” gargoyle sits atop the cathedral watching Paris with its head resting in its hands.
13- In 1804 Napoleon invited Pope Pius VII to come to Paris to crown him emperor in Notre Dame. At thelast minute, however, Napoleon seized the crown from the pope’s hands and crowned himself.
14- Notre Dame Cathedral was designed in the Gothic fashion.
15- The world famous cathedral is referred to as: Notre Dame de Paris (“Our Lady of Paris” in French), The Notre Dame Cathedral or sometimes just simple “Notre Dame”.
16- Approximately 13 million people visit Notre Dame every year, making it the most popular monument in France. More people visit Notre Dame than the Eiffel Tower. It is free to enter the cathedral.
17- In 1182 the choir and Apse were completed.
18- The Cathedral is a measurement reference : the overlooked “Point Zéro”
19- A crypt was built in 1965 to house the ruins discovered there during construction. The crypt is called the Archaeological Crypt of the Paris Notre-Dame.