Construction of the cathedral began in 1163 under Parisian bishop Maurice de Sully. Notre Dame's location in the center of Paris was selected because it was the site of a former Roman temple. The new church's construction stretched over two centuries and it was looted several times. The choir was the first section of the cathedral to be built and an inaugural service was held there in 1220.

A new road axis was built specifically for the construction of the cathedral. Bishop Maurice de Sully wanted to create an impressive landmark with the limestone building at the tip of the Seine island. The 69-meter-high (226-foot-high) twin towers were made of expensive materials to give a noble impression. Donations were collected from Parisians for the project.

After the choir, the nave was erected during the following construction phase. Its roof was destroyed by the 2019 fire. The two flat towers are impressive. Although the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral is the most visited building in the French capital, the state has been criticized for not paying enough for maintenance. The building's structure is crumbling in many places.

Repair work in the roof apparently caused the fire. Following the 850th anniversary of Notre Dame in 2013, a new renovation program of €100 million ($111 million) was undertaken by the French state, as the supporting arches had been damaged by weather and air pollution. The Gothic arches support the main vault from the outside.

The cathedral is 128 meters long and 33 meters high. The French writer Victor Hugo placed the church at the center of his classic novel from 1831, "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame." Hugo wrote the love story between the cathedral's bell ringer, a deformed hunchback called Quasimodo, and the gypsy Esmeralda to criticize the neglected state of the Gothic church.

For the cathedral's 850th anniversary in 2013, the bells that Quasimodo rang in the novel were removed from the towers and nine new bells were cast in a foundry. For their inauguration, even more people than usual assembled in front of Notre Dame.

Architect Violett-le-Duc restored the Notre Dame Cathedral in the 19th century. He added the so-called Chimera gallery, which is the name of the series of statues of mythical creatures combining parts of different animals standing on the corner of the balustrade. Another highlight of the restorations were the cathedral's famous rose windows.

With their deep blue and dark red dominant hues, the color effect of the rose windows were best observed from the inside. In true Gothic style, everything in the building strives upwards. Later additions to the church during the Renaissance and Baroque eras are a reflection of those times, but the cathedral's predominant style remains Gothic.

Major renovation work was underway when a devastating fire broke out in the attic of the cathedral on April 15, 2019. The roof and the tower in the middle of the nave collapsed. While the fire was still raging in the historic walls, French President Emmanuel Macron promised, "We will rebuild Notre-Dame," hoping that the cathedral will be restored by 2024.