6-Plus Years Later, Visitors Are Back at Notre Dame's Towers

France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral took another step in its recovery this week, with President Emmanuel Macron climbing the steps to the belfry and officially reopening the north and south towers. The public will be able to visit the towers starting Saturday, marking a key milestone nearly six and a half years after the 2019 blaze that severely damaged the historic site, per ABC News.

Dating to roughly AD1260, Notre Dame has stood for more than eight centuries and is considered a crown jewel of Gothic architecture in Paris. The cathedral regularly drew more than 13 million visitors each year before flames tore through its roof and spire, making it one of the city's most-visited sites—even ahead of the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Restoration has been an extensive undertaking: The project required 1,200 oak trees from across France to rebuild the wooden framework, along with the effort of 1,000 workers.

The broader cathedral itself held its ceremonial reopening in December, a gathering that drew 1,500 dignitaries from around the world, among them US first lady Jill Biden, then-President elect Donald Trump, Elon Musk, Prince William, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Le Monde notes that the towers' reopening comes a day before the start of European Heritage Days, a celebration of the continent's architectural and cultural contributions.