Fodorites, counting on you to have the latest on release of Notre Dame tickets. Yes, I have their website www.notredamedeparis.fr which I think I got from the Secrets of Paris newsletter, I must say, that piece had great information about all the changes made during the restoration, which I need to review -- once there, I become visually overwhelmed! And since they'll only be available few days before your preferred date, it will wisely keep people (like myself) from trying to access a date that is still many weeks away and clogging the website. (like Taylor Swift tickets!) Thanks to all.....

It is far from certain that there will be a charge for tickets to visit Notre Dame in any case. The minister of culture floated the idea and was shot down by a lot of people including the catholic authorities. She has the last word of course, but she normally does the way the wind blows.

There will continue to be a charge for climbing the towers, though.

I don't see anything wrong with a fee, I think it's a good idea. They do it in other countries for Catholic churches, for tourist visits during non-services. The vast majority of tourists don't care at all about Catholicism and the fact that it is a sacred place, supposedly. It's just something you are supposed to go see, like Versailles or the Eiffel Tower. It's obviously not a rule from the Pope if some Catholic churches do it, like those in Seville and Krakow. In fact, they don't allow tourists in during services, which I think they should do in Paris, also. I don't know why they allow that, tourists wandering around during mass.

I think they should just raise the tourist tax on hotel rooms and oher accommodaions. That way everybody would pay and not just people going to Notre Dame. That would bring in more money for the preservation of tourist sites.