From ashes to awe: The spectacular resurrection of Notre-Dame

It hasn't been that white since it was built!" declares Chloe, my Parisian friend, as we admire the scrubbed-up limestone facade of Notre-Dame. Almost six years after it was hit by a mysterious and devastating fire, this Gothic landmark is back on the French capital's tourist trail following an extraordinary 700 million euros ($1.1 billion) resurrection. Not surprisingly, it's proving popular.

Since the reopening ceremony in December - attended by everyone from President Macron to President-elect Trump - the crowds have flowed through its hallowed portals here on the Ile de la Cite, an island at the historic heart of Paris.

While Notre-Dame used to attract 12 million annual visitors, this year it's expected to pull in 15 million. Though the French government is mulling a 5 euro admission charge in future, entry remains free for now and we're among the throngs lining up on the revamped Place Jean-Paul II by the cathedral's west facade.

While the "walk-up" queue is edging along sluggishly, we're in the faster-moving reservations queue, having pre-booked a time slot via Notre-Dame's official website/app (between 10,000-15,000 slots are released daily, up to two days in advance, although they pop up at random hours and go quickly at weekends and during holiday periods, so patience and luck are required). Guided group visits, meanwhile, are scheduled to resume in June.

Queuing isn't all bad, however. It gives you time to appreciate the cathedral's majestic spruced-up exterior and all those intricately carved reliefs of saints and biblical figures, including the Virgin Mary, after whom Notre-Dame (Our Lady) is dedicated. You'll learn more with the app's complimentary self-guided audio tours, which chart the cathedral's tumultuous 860-year history, its painstaking regeneration and unmissable highlights. I've downloaded the 35-minute general tour, but you could easily spend double (or triple) that taking everything in.

As we follow couples and families into Notre-Dame, I hear exclamations in various languages - French, English, Arabic, German, Russian, Italian - as the cathedral casts its spell.

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What's immediately apparent is just how bright it is. There's a stunning luminosity to the columns, pillars and arches soaring by the central nave and the art-stocked chapels running either side. Generations of soot and grime - plus toxic lead dust that had settled after the 2019 blaze - have been stripped away. In total, an incredible 42,000 square metres of stonework were cleaned.

There's an extra dazzle when the sun's rays stream through the cathedral's spectacular stained-glass windows, which look more vibrant and colourful than before - especially the huge rose windows in the north, south and west facades. Like the checkerboard marble floor we're walking on, all have been rigorously polished.

Peering upwards, the immaculate vaulted ceiling grabs my attention. Woven behind it, says my audio commentary, is la foret (the forest), a complex lattice framework where the fire broke out. Scores of oak beams - some dating from the 13th century - were ravaged in the inferno. More than 2000 French oak trees were felled for the restoration, which mixed cutting-edge digital technology with craft methods revived from the Middle Ages. Fire-resistant wooden trusses, hand-hewn with bespoke axes, were hoisted up from barges that had arrived on the River Seine. About 210 tonnes of lead now covers the roof, while smoke detectors, thermal cameras and misting systems have boosted the cathedral's fire-protection measures.

Gazing around Notre-Dame, past people snapping pictures, lighting candles and saying prayers, a marvellous array of religious paintings, murals, tapestries, carvings, furnishings and sculptures vie for your perusal. More sacred relics are showcased at the treasury, which is tucked away and incurs a 12 euro entrance fee. But I'm content to stick to the cathedral's main areas, eyeing the golden altar cross that was left almost miraculously untouched by the blaze, and the grand organ, the largest in France.

After its 8000 pipes were dismantled, cleaned, reassembled and returned, its splendid acoustics now sound out at ticketed recitals and concerts and sometimes at mass (several services are held each day with a separate queue for worshippers). Also chiming again after restoration are the bells in the cathedral's towers, which paying visitors should be able to climb up again later in 2025.

The bells, of course, played a key role in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, an 1831 novel by Victor Hugo that sparked renewed interest in the cathedral, which was in a sorry state after the French Revolution. The Parisian architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc subsequently oversaw a dramatic renovation of the cathedral, adding numerous now-iconic features, including the roof's gargoyles and 96-metre spire. The latter collapsed in 2019, but has been faithfully reconstructed, capped with a surreal new copper statue of a rooster - a national symbol of France.

The previous rooster was discovered, charred amid the fire debris, and it's on display behind the cathedral's choir. Beside it, a board honours those who saved Notre-Dame, from the firefighters who fought the flames to the 340,000 donors from France and around the world who raised close to 900 million euros for the repair job.

Getting there: Emirates flies to Paris from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane via Dubai. emirates.com

Staying there: Located on the Left Bank of the Seine, the new four-star Hotel Grand Coeur Latin is a 15-minute walk from Notre-Dame with double rooms priced from about $330. hotelgrandcoeurlatin.com

Explore more: notredamedeparis.fr; parisjetaime.com

Pictures: Steve McKenna; David Bordes

The writer was a guest of Hotel Grand Coeur Latin.