A cathedral of crowds
Around 13 million visitors from across the world step inside Notre-Dame each year, which works out at roughly 30,000 people a day. On the busiest days, often tied to the major Catholic feasts, as many as 50,000 pilgrims and visitors may enter the cathedral in a single day.
A living place of worship
Notre-Dame remains first and foremost a place of worship, and here too the numbers are dizzying. More than 2,000 celebrations are held each year, with at least five masses every day and seven services on Sundays. Behind the figures that draw the tourists lies the steady rhythm of a working cathedral.
Soaring dimensions
The height beneath the vault reaches roughly 108 feet (33 meters), which means a twelve story building could be raised inside the cathedral. The towers rise to about 226 feet (69 meters), the equivalent of a twenty six story building, and the spire added in the nineteenth century by the architect Viollet-le-Duc reached 96m brushing the clouds above the roof.
Length, breadth, and area
The nave, the first section of the cathedral, is 197 feet long (60 m), while the transept spans 157 feet in width (48 m) and the choir measures 118 feet in length (36 m). Notre-Dame's total length is 420 feet (128 m). Its footprint is equally impressive at 51,667 square feet (4,800 m²), an area equivalent to more than eleven basketball courts. The North and South Rose Windows, vast stained-glass masterpieces, are just as remarkable, each measuring 43 feet in diameter (13.1 m).
