The surroundings of Notre-Dame will be vegetated

As Notre-Dame de Paris prepares to reopen to the public on December 8 after the 2019 fire, the City of Paris is launching surface and underground development around the cathedral. The project was presented by the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo during a press conference on October 15. They will begin in the fall of 2025 with an expected completion in 2028.

The surrounding areas are going green in order to best accommodate the many visitors, between 14 and 15 million each year. The development and revegetation plan extends from the cathedral square to the tip of the Île de la Cité, to the underground passages of Notre-Dame and the quays of the Seine. The project is led by the landscaper Bas Smets with the architect and town planner agency GRAU. The Neufville-Gayet architecture agency is in charge of the heritage aspect of the project.

The Notre-Dame square, already partly planted with trees, will be remodeled with 131 new trees which will provide a refreshing haven for visitors queuing in front of the cathedral. The bulk of the greening program is located at the rear of the building: the small Jean XXIII square will be redeveloped into a 400 meter long green promenade, a “large continuous square” going to the banks of the Seine. In total, the entire site covering 4.7 hectares should gain 36% more vegetation.

View of the development project around Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral.

© Studio Alma for the BBS Group

The work also concerns the former underground car park with a surface area of ​​3,000 m2 which will be transformed into a reception area for tourists. This “underground walk” open to the Seine (with a bookstore, a café and luggage storage) will facilitate access to the site and give direct access to the archaeological crypt and the banks of the Seine.

The project was voted on by the Paris Council in April 2021 with a budget of 50 million euros. It had raised serious concerns because of the inestimable heritage value of the site: the Île de la Cité, the bridges, the quays and the banks are part of the “Paris, banks of the Seine” site, listed as a heritage site. Unesco since 1991. The project to redevelop Square Jean XXIII (former garden of the Archbishop’s Palace) and Square de l’Île-de-France (with the Memorial of the Martyrs of the Deportation) had been criticized, notably by the National Commission heritage and architecture (CNPA). A petition gathered more than 55,000 signatures against the redevelopment of the two squares in 2023. The CNPA finally validated the project on the condition that the gates of Square Jean XXIII dating from 1830 be preserved. The signatories also criticized the fact that furniture (benches, grills) belonging to Parisian heritage was replaced by contemporary furniture.

Similar Posts