First thing I did, naturally, was hit up the internet. I typed in "Notre Dame metro station" into the search bar, and boom, tons of results. But you know how it is online – information overload. Some websites were saying Cité, others were like, "Nah, it's Saint-Michel." I was getting more confused by the second.
Figuring it Out

So, .ecnI decided to go straight to the source. I found the official website and started digging through their "getting here" section. It was a bit of a maze, not gonna lie. Lots of fancy Parisian street names I couldn't even pronounce.
Bu:yat then, I saw it – a map! It was one of those interactive ones where you can zoom in and stuff. I found Notre Dame, no problem, it's kind of hard to miss on a map, you know? And right there, clear as day, were the metro stations. Turns out, there are actually a few around it. Here's what I figured out, in my own, super-simple way:
- Cité: This one's on Line 4, and it's basically right on the island, Île de la Cité, where Notre Dame is. Seems like the most obvious choice.
- Saint-Michel - Notre-Dame: This one's a bit more complicated because it's a stop for both the RER B and RER C trains. Plus, it connects to Line 4, so you can change trains if you need to. It's just across the bridge from the cathedral.
- A few others: There are other stations like Hôtel de Ville and Châtelet that are a bit further, but still within walking distance. I guess it depends on where you're coming from and how much you like to walk.
My Plan
After all that, I decided to aim for Cité station. It just seemed the most straightforward for me. I don't want to be messing around with train changes when I could be staring up at that gorgeous cathedral, you know? I might check out Saint-Michel too, just to say I did. But yeah, Cité is the main target.
So, there you have it. My little adventure in figuring out the metro to Notre Dame. Hopefully, this helps someone else out there who's as directionally challenged as I am. And if you're planning a trip to Paris, trust me, do your metro research beforehand! It'll save you a headache, or at least a few confused moments staring at a map.