Métro to Cité on line 4, which comes up on the Île de la Cité a few minutes from the Parvis, or RER B/C to Saint-Michel–Notre-Dame and walk over the Petit Pont. Saint-Michel on line 4 also works. The front view is from the Parvis (the square in front); the classic side and apse views are from the Left Bank quays and the bridges behind the cathedral.
The west front faces west, so it is lit in the afternoon and glows in the last hour before sunset. Early morning is the only time the Parvis is anything close to empty. Blue hour, once the floodlights are on, is the best time for the whole facade and for the apse from the river.
No tripods permitted inside the Cathedral.
Entry is free, but timed reservations open 48 hours ahead on the cathedral’s website and are the only way to avoid a long line in summer. Inside, no flash and no tripods; it is a working church, with services through the day. The Parvis is packed from mid-morning and busy with pickpockets. Restoration scaffolding still wraps parts of the exterior, so clean side angles change week to week.
