Food and Drinks in Notre Dame Garden
This is a church memorial park, so you won’t find a café or drinks cart here. There are toilets, however, which can be a lifesaver in a city sorely needing more public toilets.

I did find on two-of-three-days I dropped into the park a souvenir cart just outside the back gate that sold bottled water, sodas, and sports drinks. But for food, walk a half block to one of dozens of cafés on the Right or Left banks.

Outside Notre Dame Garden
Notre Dame Cathedral makes a good place to either start or end a day’s touring through Paris. If you trace your finger on a map of Paris west from Notre Dame, you see that it is on a straight route to (in order) the Louvre Museum, Jardin des Tuleries, Place de la Concorde, the Champs Elysees, and Arc de Triomphe. South, across the Seine, and a few blocks down Boulevard St. Michel, you’ll find Luxembourg Gardens. Hitting all of these spots should take you the better part of the daylight hours, even if you hurried!

Whichever starting point you choose could depend on where your hotel, hostel, or cozy Paris apartment rental sits. If you’re staying in Paris for a week or—lucky you—a month, then this plan might seem a rush. So then take your time!

Dozens of touristy, overpriced cafés line the streets just on the Right Bank across from Notre Dame. But if you want a nice little café with a view, leave through the back gate of Notre Dame garden, over the bridge to the LEFT Bank (south), and you’ll find a few tiny, local cafés that serve snacks, coffee, beer, and wine. Order a house red and absorb a view of Paris that you’ve been waiting for. Jump to the Paris city page for more ideas.
Directions to Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame is pretty much smack dab in the center of metro Paris. Metropolitan line #4 “Cite” stop is on the island; the “Chatelet” stop on the Right Bank connects metro nos. 1, 4, 7 and 11. If you’re out walking, find the Seine River promenade and look for the big church spire is the best way a fellow walker can describe how to get there. Of course, you can look for other landmarks to judge your location: the isle de la cite is just east of the Louvre (its rear façade); from Luxembourg Gardens, walk out the east entrance and head north (left) up the Boulevard-St. Michel; if you start at the Arc de Triomphe, you’ve got over a mile walk.

(return to the Notre Dame Gardens main page)

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