Calls to charge tourists to enter Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral
The Peninsula
Paris: French ministers have raised the idea of charging tourists to enter Paris world famous Notre Dame cathedral when it opens in December after a...
Paris: French ministers have raised the idea of charging tourists to enter Paris' world-famous Notre-Dame cathedral when it opens in December after a five-year restoration, a proposal that drew a rebuke from the city's diocese on Thursday.
Culture Minister Rachida Dati said she had suggested implementing a "symbolic charge" during a conversation with Paris' Catholic archbishop, with proceeds dedicated to conserving the country's religious heritage.
But for the Paris diocese, "free admission to churches and cathedrals" is an important principle for the Catholic Church in France, it said.
"Welcoming every man and woman unconditonally" is part of the Church's "mission," wrote the diocese in a Thursday press release, adding access is "therefore necessarily free of charge".
An entry fee to Notre-Dame is a way of maintaining other religious sites in France, said Dati, noting other countries charge similar admission prices.
