Frequently Asked Questions

The experience is offered in two different locations.

It is available as part of the Cité de l'Histoire, under the Grande Arche de la Défense, in the Parvis de la Défense (92800 Puteaux). This space is located under the Grande Arche de la Défense (terminus line 1 of the subway).

It is also available close to the Cathedral, under the Parvis of the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris.

The experience is offered in two different locations, although it is exactly the same 45-minutes virtual reality experience.

Under the Grande Arche de la Défense, you can enjoy the free access spaces of the Cité de l'Histoire, that is to say a Boutique, a Bookshop and a Restaurant. 

Under the forecourt of the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris, you can discover exhibitions by our partners that explain the reconstruction of the cathedral.

• For the Eternal Notre-Dame experience in the Cité de l’Histoire:

By subway: line 1. By RER: line A. By tram: line T2. By train Transilien: line L or line U. Several buses. Stop = La Défense (Grande Arche). Exit 1 – Grande Arche

• For the Eternal Notre-Dame experience, under the Parvis of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:

By subway: lines 4 (stop Cité) and 10 (stop Cluny la Sorbonne). By RER: line B and C (stop = Saint-Michel Notre-Dame). Several buses.

• For the Eternal Notre-Dame experience in the Cité de l’Histoire:

When you are on the court of the Defense, if you turn your back to Paris and look at the Grande Arche de la Défense, the entrance is a little before the Grande Arche, on the right. The entrance to the Cité de l'Histoire is easy to locate with the “Ronde des manchons à air” and the totem pole in the centre.

The «crater» then leads you to a room lined with colored columns (black and white + blue or pink), work of the artist Buren. Crossing it, you then access the wide entrance corridor, decorated on the theme of the Cité de l'Histoire.

• For the Eternal Notre-Dame experience, under the Parvis of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:

The entrance is located on the Parvis Notre-Dame, on the Place Jean-Paul II. The entrance is located between the Police Prefecture and the Archaeological Crypt of the Ile de la Cité, when you have the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Paris in your back.

• For the Eternal Notre-Dame experience in the Cité de l’Histoire:

It is possible to park at the CNIT parking lot and at the Westfield Les 4 Temps shopping centre. These car parks are located near the entrance to the Cité de l'Histoire.

• For the Eternal Notre-Dame experience, under the Parvis of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris:

It is possible to park at Parking Indigo Paris Lutèce, Parking Indigo at Place Saint Michel or Parking Indigo Harlay Pont Neuf. They are all less than 800 meters from our entrance.

The Cité de l'Histoire that hosts the Eternal Notre-Dame experience is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 8pm. The first entrance into the experience is made at the opening time, and the last entrance is made one hour before closing.

Under the Parvis of the Cathedral, for the Eternal Notre-Dame experience, we are open from Monday to Sunday, from 10am to 8pm.

The experience lasts 45 minutes. It takes a little time for the reception, the distribution of the material (backpack and VR helmet) and the boarding in the experience.

A timetable is indicated on each ticket. For each timetable, it is possible to arrive between 15 minutes before and 20 minutes after the timetable, as not all visitors in a timetable will enter the experience at the same time.

There are two exceptions: for the 10.00 a.m. slot, there's no need to arrive early, as the doors open at 10.00 a.m.; for the 7.00 p.m. slot, it's best not to arrive after 7.10 p.m., as the doors close at 8.00 p.m.

The start of the experience is done in small groups (1 to 5 people, knowing each other or not). A same group evolves at exactly the same pace in the experience, and sees the same scenes at the same time. Group departures are planned according to the number of visitors.

Yes, it is quite possible to buy tickets on site. Payment by credit card and cash is available for on-site ticketing of both sites.

However, for weekends and busy days, it is mandatory to book your tickets online in advance. When a time slot or a day is indicated "full" on the online ticket office, that time slot or day is no longer available for sale on site. It is not possible to request to be on a waiting list in case a space becomes available.

On the online ticketing, tickets are from 20€: 20,99€ in reduced rate and group rate / 30,99€ in full rate.

Directly on site, tickets are from 25€: 25€ in reduced fare (no group rate on site). 35€ in full rate.

• Children and teenagers under 18
• Students
• The unemployed and RSA beneficiaries
• Persons with disabilities and their accompanying person
• School group attendants
• Holders of a monthly or annual Navigo Pass

The reduced rate applies to certain time slots.

The group rate is accessible to people who take their ticket online (not available on site) by constituting a group of minimum five persons. Thanks to this price, the ticket costs 20€ (20,99€) instead of 30€ (30,99€) to each group member.

No, it is not possible to pay the tickets with bank cheques, holiday cheques or culture checks.

For school groups, associations or professionals, please send your request to ce-groupes@amaclio.com

For virtual reality experiments of this type, the recommendations indicate a minimum age of 11 years. However it is possible for slightly younger children (9-10 years) to realize the Eternal Notre-Dame experience, taking into account the following points:

• Weight and size of VR equipment (backpack and helmet)
• The duration (45 minutes)
• The potential disruption virtual reality can cause for very young children

It is nevertheless possible to hold the hand of your child during the experience, for example, to reassure him and always stay with him.

Virtual reality is not just for young people! However, the experience is not recommended for very old people who would have difficulty walking and balance problems. See above for questions about people with reduced mobility. Finally, it should be noted that during the experience, some sensations can be very realistic (feeling of climbing an elevator or even feeling of seeing a wall), and possibly slightly disturb people during the experience.

We recommend that pregnant women, the elderly and people with psychiatric disorders, binocular vision defects, heart disease, seizure disorders or other serious illnesses, as well as people with pacemakers or hearing aids, consult a doctor before using a virtual reality headset.

The experience is not recommended for people with epilepsy. If you have any doubts about the feasibility of the experience for a person with a disability, we invite you to ask us in advance.

For the VR experience, you will be equipped with a backpack containing a hard-disk (about 4 kilos) and a virtual reality headset.

The virtual reality headset is one size fits all, so it will not be suitable for small children. However, it can be adjusted with different settings to fit different head shapes.

The backpack containing the hard-disk may feel a little heavy after a while, but there are straps to adjust it and distribute the weight over the hips to make it lighter. The backpack may be difficult to carry for people who are too small (very young children) or elderly and have balance problems.

The experiment works on wifi: if you are sensitive to wifi waves, the experiment will have the same effect as if you were close to a mobile phone or a wifi terminal.

Yes, it is possible and even recommended to wear glasses (myopia as well as hyperopia or presbyopia) to keep them under their helmet to perform the experience.

Yes, each visitor, regardless of his or her group, appears to the others as an avatar. Visitors do not see themselves, but they see the other members of their group (identified by their first name) as well as other visitors who are also in the room (but without their name). So no pile-up!

To access the Cité de l'Histoire in a wheelchair, there is a specific access by lift from the Grande Arche square: all the details on this page.

To access the experience under the Parvis de la Cathédrale, a lift is available directly on the parvis, on your right when you are facing the Cathedral (lift visible on our access map at the bottom of the homepage).

We also recommend that you contact us beforehand (using the contact form and specifying the site you are visiting) in order to best prepare your visit.

It is possible to do the experience with a wheelchair; you will then have a specific avatar specifying your mobility, to ensure your safety and that of other visitors.

It should be noted that the experience (45 minutes) is done by walking, since it is a real «expedition». It is not planned to be able to sit during the virtual reality experience.

On the other hand, if you want to experiment in a wheelchair, we can lend you one on site (even if you don’t usually use one). Be careful to make the request in advance via our contact form to ensure its availability and specify the site where you are going.

On the forecourt of Notre-Dame: The soundtrack to the experience is available in French, English, Spanish, Japanese, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese. The choice of language is up to each individual, so you can come in a group and share in the experience, but still have the text in the language that suits you.

Please note: For the experience at La Défense in the Cité de l'Histoire, please note that it is only available in French and English.

We have a cloakroom with individual secure lockers for your coats and medium-sized bags. Please note that large bags or suitcases are not permitted.

For 45 minutes, equipped with a computer backpack and a virtual reality headset, you will wander through a 500m2 room, while having the impression of travelling through the centuries and into the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris. The realism of the 3D reconstruction, at the cutting edge of virtual reality technology, creates a very strong illusion that allows visitors to be drawn into an extraordinary journey through time.

In the experience, each small group (1 to 5 people) moving at the same pace is guided by a fellow builder who appears as a digital avatar. He stays by your side throughout the tour: he talks to you, tells you where to go and tells you the history of the Cathedral and its works of art.

With Eternal Notre-Dame, you will be able to rediscover the Cathedral as it was before the fire of April 2019, but also, and above all, have the privilege of walking through the different periods of its construction, of getting up close to the bells and the framework, of seeing the rose windows more closely than you will ever be able to do in real life... and even of discovering Notre-Dame in the future!

Journalists with a project for an article (or radio/TV subject) on the Eternal Notre-Dame experience are invited to contact the Press Department directly. Contact on the Press page: Louis-Xavier NICOLAS, louis-xavier.nicolas@amaclio.com, +33 (0)6 89 94 60 24

All press resources are available on the Press page of our website. You will find visuals, sound and video clips in free access (credits: Orange / Emissive).

For all communication projects (partnerships, social networks and others, projects related to Eternal Notre-Dame), please contact us at communication@amaclio.com