Musee de Notre Dame de Paris museum



The Musee de Notre Dame de Paris is also known as the Musee Notre-Dame and is located only a short walk away from the famous Notre Dame Cathedral that is situated on the Ile de la Cite, which is an island in the River Seine in Paris.

This is a small museum in Paris that provides exhibits for an even greater insight into the history of the Notre Dame de Paris, which includes old drawings, plans and engravings that reveal some of the mysteries and various development stages of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

The fascinating Musee de Notre Dame de Paris also contains documents that testify to the great historical events that occurred at this famous monument in Paris, and incredibly, some of these documents include the history of the bishops and archbishops who have marked its past through the centuries.
Musee de Notre Dame de Paris
You can also get to view music scores, notes and some personal articles that are on display in the museum from Louis Vierne who was the main organist for the Great Organ at the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral.

However, there is more than just one Grande Organ at the Notre Dame Cathedral, but up until the 1800s and especially before the revolution, there was not an organ for the choir, as the clergy sang unaccompanied, bar some bass instruments that were introduced and the odd portable organ used on special occasions.

And so, today, at the Musee Notre-Dame Museum in Paris you can get to see the string bass and the bassoon that were used in the 1800s for the choir of Notre Dame, which was well before any true organ accompaniment was established.

This museum also used to display relics from archaeological digs that were conducted in the area where the cathedral stands, however there is also a crypt beneath the Notre Dame Cathedral square called the Crypte Archaeologique.  This is where you will now find artefacts and information on how the city of Paris looked over 2000 years ago when it was originally known as Lutetia.  And you can walk through medieval and classical remains of the archaeological layers that provide a greater insight into the history of Paris and how it developed through the ages.
Now, getting back the Musee de Notre Dame de Paris, even though it was the history of the Notre Dame Cathedral that inspired Victor Hugo to write his famous novel called the Hunchback of Notre Dame, the museum itself was not established until 1951, which was many years later.

Yet you will not get to see the religious relics or The Crown of Thorns here, as they are held within the treasury of the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral itself.  However, you can visit the Treasury and even see past reliqueries for the Crown of Thorns, such as the shrine from Napoleon Bonaparte I, or even go to one of the Veneration services at the Notre Dame de Paris cathedral at certain times of the year, whether it by whilst you are on holiday in Paris or on a pilgrimage.

Access to Musee de Notre Dame de Paris



With the Musee de Notre Dame being only a very short walk from the Notre Dame Cathedral itself, which is situated in the 4th Arrondissement of Paris on the Ile de la Cite island in the middle of the River Seine, and is a great place to discover more about the history of this famous landmark in Paris.

The Musee de Notre Dame de Paris Museum is normally open from 2.30pm through to 6pm on a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday, yet it has also only been open by appointment at times, so we would advise checking prior to deciding you wish to visit this museum in Paris.
Statues at Musee de Notre Dame de Paris
Artifacts within Musee de Notre Dame de Paris
To access this museum via public transport, you will find that the nearest Metro station is called the Cite stop serving line 4, however, the Batobus water bus also has a stop nearby on the left bank of the River Seine at the Quai de Montebello.

There are also other Metro stations located on each bank of the River Seine such as the Hotel de Ville stop serving lines 1 and 11 and the Pont Marie stop serving line 7, but if you are travelling via the RER, then the nearest train station is the Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame stop serving the RER B and RER C lines.

You could also utilise the buses in Paris, with the closest bus stop being on the Ile de la Cite island right by the Parvis de Notre Dame that serves line 47 along with the Noctilien Night Bus Lines N12, N13, N14, N15, N21, N22 and N24.

However, you will find that other bus lines including 21, 22, 24, 27, 38, 67, 69, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 81, 85 and 96 will also get you close by, either on the left or the right bank with a short walk over one of the bridges that connect to the island.