Things to do near Notre-Dame
Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie, Île Saint-Louis, the Latin Quarter, and the best photo spots.
The Sainte-Chapelle, a 13th-century royal chapel famous for its walls of stained glass, is a few minutes’ walk away on the same island. On a bright day its upper chapel feels like standing inside a jewel.
The Conciergerie, a former royal palace and revolutionary prison, has some of the oldest surviving medieval halls in Paris — a striking contrast to the cathedral.
Cross the small footbridge behind the cathedral to the Île Saint-Louis for a quiet stroll, elegant façades, and a famously good ice cream. The quays looking back at Notre-Dame’s east end — with its sweep of flying buttresses — are among the best photo spots in Paris.
On the Left Bank, the Latin Quarter offers bookshops (including Shakespeare and Company, just across the river), cafés, and narrow medieval streets perfect for a slow afternoon.
Rainy day? The Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie are both indoors, and the covered passages of the Latin Quarter keep a wander pleasant in any weather.