Notre-Dame reopens 8 Dec 2024

Notre-Dame reopens

In the heart of Paris stands one of the city"s most enduring icons: Notre-Dame Cathedral. Built between the 12th and 13th centuries on the Île de la Cité—an island in the Seine—Notre-Dame has witnessed centuries of French history, from the Hundred Years" War to the French Revolution, and beyond. Although it was chosen by Napoleon as the site of his coronation as emperor in 1804, by the early 19th century, the cathedral was in a state of disrepair. However, one novel changed its fortunes: "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" by Victor Hugo. The popularity of this book helped encourage a restoration project that renewed the cathedral"s former beauty.

© Julien Fromentin/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Birthplace of the Renaissance
8 Dec 2023La Rocque Harbour, Jersey
8 Dec 2025Christmas lights on buildings of Domaso, Lake Como, Italy

More Desktop Wallpapers:

26 Sep 2024Blue-throated toucanet, Los Quetzales National Park, Costa Rica
17 Apr 2025Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
Paranormal activity?
The bears of summer
14 Apr 2026Common clownfish, Raja Ampat Islands, Indonesia
10 Nov 2023Badlands National Park, South Dakota, USA
15 Aug 2024Hang Sơn Đoòng, Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Vietnam
4 Feb 2024Devetashka Cave, Devetaki, Bulgaria
A postcard-perfect landscape
Aug 22, 2023Amphitheatre of El Jem, Tunisia
City of ice
23 Jan 2025Sundance Film Festival
Aug 31, 2023Saguaro cacti, Ironwood Forest National Monument, Arizona
4 Mar 2025Happy Fat Tuesday!
3 May 2026International Leopard Day
22 Oct 2024Palazzo Zuccari, Rome
16 Oct 2024Jurassic Coast, Dorset, England
8 Mar 2024International Womens Day
4 Feb 2025Golden Bridge, Bà Nà Hills, Da Nang, Vietnam
4 May 2024Brighton Festival
15 Dec 2025Spiegelgracht canal in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Keep practising, little guy
22 Feb 2026Mam Tor, Derbyshire, England
27 Dec 2023Kirkjufell, Iceland
16 Jul 2025Temple of Philae, Aswan, Egypt
Creating a better world
The other continent Down Under
‘Night shining’ clouds
2 Oct 2024Wind River, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska, USA
In the running