After the early start yesterday to catch the Eurostar train, I had a lie-in. When I eventually left the hotel, I walked to a nearby bakery. I wanted to buy a baguette de campagne (“country bread”), which is a sort of sourdough bread. It was sold out. I settled for half a plain baguette. On the way to the metro, I picked up some fruit.
On the walk to Notre-Dame, I spotted a square. I sat and had my basic brunch there.
It shouldn’t have been surprising but there was a long winding queue to get into Notre-Dame. I joined the queue and expected a long wait in the heat. To my surprise, the queue was moving fast. Very quickly I was in the cathedral after some security checks.
I’d been to the cathedral twice before: in 1986 and 2001. Here are three photos I took: the left from 1986, the middle from 2001 and the right from 2026.
Despite the fire in 2019, the cathedral looks the same as it ever did. The restoration has been astonishing — and it’s still going on (you can see the crane). I think I read on the outside panels that 3000 people have worked on it.
Once inside, I sat down and listened to the organist, who happened to be playing when I entered.
To get the most out of a visit to the cathedral, which is free, I downloaded the Notre‑Dame app. You can listen to interesting descriptions about various parts of the cathedral.
After leaving the cathedral, I walked around, taking in the Paris architecture and the views. I was beginning to remember how pleasant it is to walk around Paris.
After wandering around, I was getting hungry. So I asked Google Maps to point out “open vegan restaurants near me”. I was surprised how many there were! I picked Ginsburger and made my way there. The burgers and chips tasted good. This time I ordered a “home made” lemonade, which, in Paris, is fizzy water with lemon juice. You have the option of adding sugar, salt, and/or mint.
It was still bright and I didn’t want to go back to the hotel straight away. So I followed the metro line 7 route at road level. This would allow me to see more of Paris.
At Pont Neuf, a bridge crossing the Seine, I saw a crowd looking down to the riverside path. There was a musician playing. He’d managed to get many people dancing. They were having a good time. One man was trying to persuade watchers to join in.
By this time, the sun had set. It was time to head back to the hotel.
