Visit Notre-Dame cathedral in a new virtual reality experience

The new Éternelle Notre-Dame exhibition uses VR technology to share the story of the famous Parisian landmark. 

Éternelle Notre-Dame opened to the public on 15 January 2022 at the Espace Grande Arche in the business district of La Défense. The 45-minute interactive experience, which has been developed by Orange and Emissive, the company responsible for Mona Lisa: Beyond The Glass, the Louvre’s first-ever VR exhibition, allows users to travel back through 800 years of Notre-Dame’s history from the 12th century to the present day.  

The famous cathedral is currently undergoing extensive repair work after a fire in April 2019 caused devastating damage, and while the real-time restoration project is scheduled for completion in 2024 in time for the Paris Olympic Games, Éternelle Notre-Dame has already restored the building to its former glory. 

The new interactive experience uses a VR headset to explore a historically accurate recreation of Notre-Dame that has been created using old photographs of the interior and exterior. The cutting-edge technology allows visitors to marvel at the architecture as they walk through the magnificent building while learning about the historical events and people that have shaped its history. 

Éternelle Notre-Dame will run at the Espace Grande Arche until 3rd April 2022, when it will transfer to the Conciergerie on the Île de la Cité. It will then move to the Parvis de Notre-Dame – the main square in front of the cathedral – in September, and there are also plans to take the virtual reality experience on tour in France, across Europe and the rest of the world. Tickets cost €30 with 30% of the proceeds from sales going towards the restoration fund.