It’s somewhere we’ve all been to, Paris is the city of love. A never-fading metropolis of passion, cuisine, culture and architecture, we’ve all been captivated by this stunning capital city.
Notre-Dame is over 850 years old and has seen Paris through some monumentally challenging times.
Around 13 million tourists a year visit Notre-Dame as one of the world’s top historic attractions.
While it is too early to say what impact the destruction will have on inbound tourist numbers to Paris, the Gothic cathedral is a major draw for visitors to the French capital.
French president Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild Notre-Dame and appealed for international help to restore the Paris landmark.
A national fundraising campaign to restore Notre-Dame is to be launched today and he called on the world’s “greatest talents” to help.
One of the richest men in France was today reported to be donating €100 million towards the rebuilding of Notre-Dame but it is not known how long such an extensive project could take.
The cathedral’s landmark rectangular towers have been saved as 400 fire-fighters fought for nine hours to tackle the blaze that ravaged two-thirds of the roofing and destroyed the spire.
Renovation work was underway at the 850-year-old building, but the cause of the fire is not yet clear.
Images on social media last night showed flames and smoke coming from the cathedral, a major tourist attraction in the French capital.
Areas around the cathedral were cleared of visitors as a major emergency operation took place to tackle the blaze.
A sad sight I’m sure we all beheld last night, let’s pray that this stunning Cathedral rises from it’s ashes very soon.
Ed x