In pictures: First look at Notre Dame’s breathtaking restoration five years after fire

Many will remember watching in horror five years ago as bright orange flames engulfed the 860-year-old Gothic cathedral, its famed spire toppling from the Paris skyline.

At the time, Macron vowed the beloved building would be restored and set an ambitious deadline of five years. Fast forward 2,055 days, the seemingly impossible has been achieved and the €700 million ($737 million) restoration is complete.

They've done an amazing job.

Flourescent lights on beige.

How restorative.

It looks like they painted it white.

It needs a little patina.

The photos suggest a Datalounge "Tasteful Friends" subject, somewhere in Texas.

Is it lit with LED lights now or is just the soot was actually removed from the stone for the first time in hundreds of years?

I want Macron to sit on my face.

It's incredibly beautiful. So much history there, and I bet it's even more incredible in person.

They did such a fantastic job. Worth every cent.

R8 I visited 7 years ago (my second visit), and it has a beautiful, tranquil atmosphere. The artwork, the stained glass, the architecture.. Absolutely stunning.

The trains are failing the slums are falling down the people have to work longer till retirement but hey the church looks great.

I bet it now has wifi and the gift shop is twice the size of the old one.

[quote]the seemingly impossible has been achieved

Nothing's impossible!

Same here R7.

Beautiful.

*

Let's hope it represents a revitalisation of France.

It looks so....new. I don't recognize it because the stone is so clean and the lighting so bright. It looks downright Protestant. It seemed dark and mysterious before the fire. The windows are still spectacular. It was a major undertaking and quite an accomplishment.

Could you feel the history. It must have been incredible to visit there.

I meant to R9, Dutchie⬆️

Yes, R18, you could. It also had that old church smell, the floors and steps were a bit concave from all of the many footsteps over the centuries. I've visited several times. Went to morning mass in the nave behind the main altar one morning with the rising sun coming through the windows.

There are plenty of other cathedrals definitely worth visiting that breathe of history: Chartre & Rheims (I might visit them next year), Canterbury (it was bigger, much more beautiful, interesting then I expected). Many of the churches in Italy.

- Not R8

R18, you absolutely could. As you walk down, from the Centra Pompidou, to the island in the Seine where the cathedral is located, the city is loud, there is a lot of noise, people milling about.

And then you enter the Notre Dame, and everything else just... melts away. I remember a lot of places where you can light a candle, in different sizes. The church wasn't super crowded, but well-visited. People speaking in hushed tones. Quiet enough to sit and reflect for a moment, and then you walk out again into the bustling business of Paris.

Looks like the national cathedral in DC. I guess it’s unavoidable.

They should have restored the grimey soot from 900 years of Gauloises.

There was the same ignorant bitching when they cleaned the Sistina. This is what it looked in 1163. Trust me.

This is literally and figuratively a bright spot in world of on going negative events.Restoration made interior brighter than ever.

I read it cost like three quarters of a billion euros, damm. But it looks spotless. There were plans to make the new roof really 'green', like alive with plants. I didn't see any pictures of that, did it happen?

The world is lucky it survived at all and that great care and no expense spared for a treasure of humanity.

Hrmmmmm difficult to tell for certain from photos (as always with lighting) but it looks a bit lacking in depth and shadowplay, and they definitely used too white a colour temp. Looks like a computer game in some photos.

They never did verify the exact cause of the fire. They are assuming it's either from a cigarette or an electric circuit short. It is a breathtakingly beautiful church, I;m glad they did such an amazing job restoring it.

Where is the color?? Who chose the drab white and gray? I hate open concept floor plans!

I mean, they've done a remarkable job, but it looks new and frankly lacking in awe. They've removed centuries of aging aka history.

And that kitchen island has GOT TO GO!

They need to bring in several smoke bombs and set them off in the place and let it sit there closed up for several days. That'll get the place looking like it's an 850 year old cathedral.

Time will dirty it again.

I'm also amazed that the whole thing didn't collapse. Those flying buttresses did their job.

Great place to ditch the tour!

They have done the same over cleaning of the stone in Rome a la Trevi. Removing all patina and shadowing . Bleaching and 24/7 LED lighting destroys chiaroscuro . Making architectural features and sculpture appear two dimensional. Medieval art was made to be viewed under natural sunlight and shadowed candlelight. You wind up with Notre-Dame de Vegas.

It sounds like it was a beautiful experience. To be there for morning mass with the sun coming through those beautiful windows. The smell of history, too. Thank you R20.

^ Medieval art was not made to be viewed by Negroes.

In France everything looks better White.

R37, keep following your soul. It will happen. Going to Notre Dame helped my appreciate architecture, beauty and music where I am from that I had never seen before.

I'd love to experience that R40. If I ever get the chance I'd go there. I will follow my soul, and I'm trying to now. Thank you R40.

live life love!

The rose window looks stunning in blue.

They ruined the place, unsurprisingly.

The redistribution of light, and its coloration with the new "system" of stage lighting, creates an effect that has nothing to do with the fundamentals of the structure's precise placement in Gothic development.

R44

Looks amazing! Can’t wait to see in person …

[quote] I mean, they've done a remarkable job, but it looks new and frankly lacking in awe. They've removed centuries of aging aka history.

I agree. I prefer those dark, cavernous gothic cathedrals where you can imagine you are back in the time when it was constructed. It looks sterile now. Glad I got to see it a couple times back in the day, but it's not the same now. Bordeaux still has a beautiful cathedral.

They must have had some of the best artisans and architect's in the world to rebuild it so beautifully.

It looks incredible. 60 Minutes report...