Notre Dame Interior & Île De La Cité Semi Private Guided Tour

Adam was a fantastic guide —very informative, made things very interesting, kept the tour captivated and was very, very humorous. We recommend taking a tour with him!

Title: $238 for an 11-Minute Tour – Completely Misleading and Disappointing! ⭐ 1 out of 5 stars We booked the private guided tour of Notre-Dame Cathedral through Viator for $238, expecting an informative, personalized experience of one of Paris's most iconic landmarks. Unfortunately, what we received was nothing remotely close to what was advertised. Our guide arrived on time, but that was about the only positive aspect of this experience. Our entire "private guided tour" lasted exactly 11 minutes. During those 11 minutes, our guide showed us photographs on an iPad and provided basic information about the cathedral's fire and reconstruction—information readily available through a simple Google search. She then informed us that tour guides were not permitted inside Notre-Dame, escorted us to the expedited entry line, and left. That was the entirety of our $238 private tour. What made this experience even more frustrating was that once inside the cathedral, we observed numerous guides accompanying groups of visitors and providing guided experiences. This directly contradicted what our guide had told us. The tour description specifically advertised an opportunity to explore Notre-Dame's restored interior, discover architectural highlights and artistic masterpieces, and uncover hidden corners and lesser-known features with insights from a knowledgeable guide. We received NONE of that guided experience inside the cathedral. Instead, we were left to explore on our own, without any explanation of the magnificent architecture, artwork, history, or restoration details we had specifically paid to learn about. We have traveled extensively and understand that tours do not always go exactly as planned. However, charging $238 for an 11-minute iPad presentation and an escort to an entrance line is completely unacceptable. Had we known this was what the experience actually included, we would NEVER have booked it. Notre-Dame itself is absolutely breathtaking and worth visiting, but this particular tour was a tremendous disappointment and a complete waste of money. We feel the tour was grossly misrepresented and did not deliver the experience advertised. We believe a full refund is warranted. I strongly encourage other travelers to think twice before booking this private tour. Save your money and make sure you understand exactly what you are paying for.

The tour and guide were great. I was overwhelmed with the information I learned. What a beautiful experience.

You don't need this tour, it's free to go inside, you can rent an audio tour for much less. Get there early and there's no line.

Our tour guide was Felix, and he was excellent! Felix was professional, extremely knowledgeable, and fun. We highly recommend this tour of Notre Dame.

I had misread the description, after Notre Dame there is a walking tour and you see the outside of St Chapelle but the tour does not include that. Having said that the tour was the perfect way to see Notre Dame. The guide was informative and knowledgeable and passionate about story telling related to it

Fantastic. Bellen was an amazing guide. Highly recommend a small tour like this.

Great experience, Belen was very knowledgeable! Wonderful tour guide!!!

Tour of Notre Dame was great. The guide was very knowledgeable and passionate about the history of the church

First off, Antoine was magnificent. He was knowledgeable about not only Notre Dame but also history in general which made his presentation interesting. He spoke clearly and when asked a question he repeated it to the group so we all knew what had been asked and his answer this made sense to us all. Really an excellent guide. Now my assessment of tours in general are greatly different from my expectations. My expectations of a tour are get me in to see the place, everywhere, top to bottom with explanations but not a history lesson because we got to see things. Yours is see a little and talk a lot. My issue not yours and will help me make better choices in the future.

Violet was wonderful! And getting to skip the long entry queue was brilliant! Violet is super knowledgeable, friendly and engaging! Our tour was in English and she was very easy to understand. The tour was both about the history of the cathedral and the little island it sits upon, as well as some info about the adjacent island. This did not climb any stairs in the cathedral which we were fine with as have been doing plenty of walking in Paris! Would love to do another tour with Violet anytime!

Stephanie was a fantastic guide. Her knowledge of history, art and architecture encompassed the life of Notre Dame. She also threw in her British sense of humor which we loved. She was meant to be a guide as her delivery of information was engaging and interesting. You could tell this is her passion. If you can request her as your guide, I recommend it.

Vincent was an excellent guide who thoughtfully explained the history and story that is Notre Dame Cathedral. We learned so much and would’ve missed so much without his expert guidance.

The tour was great- we really learned a lot of information. Adam was a great guide and was very energetic and personable!

Adam treated us to a spectacular tour of Notre-Dame! Incredibly engaging, offering up the chance to demonstrate any prior knowledge you may have. Often times humorous as well as informative. Go team Adam!

The best tour guide we have ever had. He was amazing and very knowledgeable. Avi was the name of our guide he was awesome!

Our Tour with Belem was absolutely terrific. She was knowledgeable, personable, and quite funny. Perhaps most importantly, she clearly enjoys showing the sites. Do not hesitate!

Tour lasted the right amount of time, focused but complete. Guide knowledgeable and well prepared. We enjoyed it.

We have been on tours throughout the world: Rome, London, Lisbon, etc. without doubt, our tour with Belen was the best we’ve ever experienced. She is knowledgeable, witty, and personable. Absolutely fabulous. Don’t hesitate.

This was our first trip to Notre Dame and it was beautiful. Our guide was great at explaining everything to us and even a little tour of the town around it. We had crepes and watched people go by and it was lovely.

Adam was a great guide! Providing the incredible history of Notre Dame and how History of France is intertwined. I learned so many fun facts about the building and repairing of Notre Dame as well as how religion was such a central part of the birth of Paris. Highly recommend….the time flew by!

Adam was a fantastic tour guide. He was engaging and shared anecdotes about the Iles de Cite that most would not know. He also shared interesting facts about the history of Notre Dame. I highly recommend him and the tour.

Adam is amazing. His tour is fun and educational.

What a great day. Going early in the morning Was the key. By 11:00 the courtyard was packed with long lines to enter. At 9:00 we walked right in and the cathedral was fairly empty. Our guide Emilie was wonderful. Very knowledgeable and here English was excellent.

Had a wonderful tour of Notre Dame and surrounding area with Belen. She even was able to have a cross blessed by a French Priest and translated for us. Provided great insight. We feel like old friends.

Francesca was a delight and very knowledgeable. Also, her English is excellent. We were lucky to tour with her.

Our guide was very knowledgeable about the history, architecture and art work of the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Our guide was simply fantastic, she was knowledgeable, kind and engaging. The day we were at Notre Dame was exceptionally crowded and the lines were but our guide kept our little group together and filled the waits with history that made the area come alive. We had a great time and talked about the visit long after the tour was over.

Avi was terrific very knowledgeable. Very thorough. Speaks English beautifully. He is American born lives in Paris.. very very thorough, wonderfully knowledgeable about Notre Dame & the Ilse de la citie . Having visited Notre Dame many times before this I never learned as much as I did today with Avi. Take his tour , you won’t regret it.

Adam was extraordinary. So knowledgeable, interesting and could answer any questions

Adam is a fabulious guide an a welth of information.

Adam was fantastic! His knowledge far surpassed any tour I have been on in Paris

Our Bolt driver cancelled us at the last minute so we had to get another driver. We arrived right at 9:30 at the meeting point and could not find our group! So we lost out on almost a $200 walking tour!! There should be a phone number supplied to help the customer out! So that isn’t right!!! Sometimes things happen and we should have been able to call!!!

Adam was super knowledgeable. Enjoyed the day very much.

Belem is amazing! Fantastic knowledge and interaction!!!!

I took this tour with Hugo on April 11… Hugo (also a native Parisian!) was our guide for the morning Notre Dame tour. He is definitely full of a wealth of knowledge about Notre Dame and we were able to go early before the lines became very long! He pointed out interesting sites both inside and outside of Notre Dame and walked us around the island where Notre Dame is and showed us and explained to us the history of the island. The only suggestion at times it was difficult to understand Hugo’s tour of Notre Dame. It would have been nice to have headphones to hear him better because he was whispering throughout the tour at Notre Dame to be respectful. Otherwise, fantastic tour Hugo, merci!

Really good. !! Avi was amazing and very knowledgable.

Sara was wonderful! She was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. Taught us a great deal about the cathedral and surrounding area. Even our preteens were entertained and enjoyed the time touring about…a big win!

Our guide was fantastic, sharing rich history and stories of Paris along the way. The scenic walk, travelling by train like locals, and even the long staircase to the meeting point made it feel authentic and memorable. We didn’t get to visit inside Notre Dame as it was being rebuilt, but the experience was still wonderful. Visiting the medieval quarter and Sainte-Chapelle, which I had been so excited to see, was absolutely beautiful. A truly special Parisian experience.

We took a tour of Sainte Chapelle, the Conciergerie, and Ile de la Cite with Violette. It was a fantastic tour that we would recommend to everyone. Violette is extremely knowledgeable with various facts and details that add a lot of color to the places. And she obviously loves being a tour guide. We highly recommend her a a tour guide.

Avi, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable and personable as he led us through the streets and sights of lle de la Cite. We especially liked learning the history of Saint Chappell and experiencing its beauty. We would highly recommend this tour of this part of Paris!

Our guide was Hugo. He had incredible knowledge and willingly shared with our group! He gave us references and suggested authors and books when questions arose. This tour with Hugo made our trip to Paris worthwhile!

Adam was a wealth of knowledge. He gave us incredible insight and information on all of the locations we visited and the history. Although many times I’ve been on tours where they spit out information, he used it to tell a story and really got us intrigued in everything that he was telling us.

Doesn’t include inside tour. I specifically asked a Viator rep if it was included. When we arrived at Notre Dame we were able to walk through at a leisurely pace on our own.

Our tour guide Armand has a Masters degree in French history and he mined every bit of it as he shared his knowledge on all things medieval Paris.

Ahmed, was a fab tour guide with à wealth of knowledge, highly recommend. Thank you so very much we really enjoyed ourselves.

Danielle is very knieledgeable about the history of France esp the French Revolution. He has motivated me to read a book or 2 on it!

We no normally don’t get guided tours but this time to avoid queues to get in the Sainte Chapelle church we opted for the tour. Our guide was brilliant, very interesting stories for all the places we walked about. Tour guide was very knowledgeable

Great to see Saints Chapelle and learn about Notre Dame. The Concirie is kind of a nothingburger and skippable.