The famous Notre Dame, a true art on its own has suffered an enormous fire that made many wonder what’s the new development on the famous landmark.

Notre Dame is still at the top of the list to visit in Paris despite the fire that almost destroyed the famous structure on April 15, 2019. Many people are curious to see what the famous landmark looks like now. so many have changed for the district surrounding the famous cathedral.

A Year After The Notre Dame Fire

The Forecourt

Hundreds of tourists cavorted in front of the fire, queuing up to take a look at the world-famous sight from the inside. Now in the middle of the square is a beige-colored barrier with barbed wire – it blocks the view of the entrance to the cathedral. The construction work is going on behind her. The actual fence that keeps visitors away is a few dozen meters in front of it. It’s difficult, you can’t see the damage so well. The structure of the church is still there, so it’s not easy to estimate how bad the damage is.

View from the banks of the Seine shows the destruction

And indeed – if you want to see what the fire has done, you can see it better on the banks of the Seine than on the city island. Because if you look from the side at the nave, you can see how the fire has eaten its way through the roof. There are cranes, nets stretched and wooden supports attached. Prior to the fire, structure work occurred on the enormous cathedral – the massive scaffolding still showed signs that it had been standing there. Strangely, it has turned into melted metal.

The investigators are still not much closer to the cause of the fire. The fire was started either by a fault in the electrical system or a cigarette that was not properly stubbed out. And another thing is dragging on: the lead pollution. A lot of lead was used, especially in the roof structure and the tower cover of the cathedral. It had melted by the fire.

For the various merchants and eateries on the popular Île de la Cité, these establishments are as affected as the cathedral itself. The fire has affected them one way or the other. While it is now open to the public, the urge of the pandemic has worsened the situation.

Will a prayer room be built?

Because of the barriers, many tourists only come for a photo, but no longer stay in the neighborhood. And that’s bad for business. LeJeune estimates that retailers’ sales are currently only between 40 and 70 percent of the usual. It is particularly bad for the restaurants and shops in the small streets right by the cathedral. There are now gloomy passages between the houses and partition walls – uninviting.

Five years – this is President Emmanuel Macron’s ambitious plan for reconstruction. And in the meantime? A prayer room is to be built on the forecourt of the cathedral.

Final Thoughts

Travel these days has become very strict due to the circumstances of COVID-19. Even so, travel is possible. If you have had the chance to visit Notre Dame, you can always get a car rental service much like the Leiebilnord in Norway.