The restored interior of Notre Dame Cathedral has been unveiled for the first time after more than five years of reconstruction work.
The rebuilt soaring ceilings and cream stonework erased sombre memories of a devastating fire on April 15, 2019.
Images broadcast live of a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron showed the inside of the famous Paris cathedral as worshippers might have experienced it back in medieval times, its wide, open spaces filled with bright light on a crisp and sunny winter's day.
Emmanuel Macron during his visit of Notre Dame to thank people who worked to rebuild the cathedral. (EPA PHOTO)
Gaping holes left in the vaulted ceilings and charred piles of debris are now gone.
Macron entered via the cathedral's giant and intricately carved front doors and stared up at the ceilings in wonder.
"This is overwhelming", the president said as he took an extensive tour along with his wife Brigitte and some officials, shaking hands with many of the master craftsmen who had taken part in the renovation.
It's Macron's final visit to the construction site to see the restoration for himself before the famous monument's reopening for worship on December 8.
His two-hour tour was televised live.
The visit kicks off a series of events ushering in the reopening of the 12th-century Gothic masterpiece.
The cathedral will be officially inaugurated on December 7. (EPA PHOTO)
Macron will return on December 7 to deliver an address and attend the consecration of the new altar during a solemn mass the following day.
The president's administration hailed the reconstruction as a symbol of national unity.
The Catholic Church expects the cathedral to welcome some 15 million visitors annually.
"We are very eager to welcome the whole world under the roof of our cathedral," Paris' Archbishop Laurent Ulrich said in a message on the cathedral website, expressing the Church's gratitude to all those who helped save it.
"On the night of April 15, hundreds of thousands of people committed themselves to what then seemed an impossible bet: to restore the cathedral and give it back its splendour within the unprecedented deadline of five years."
with Reuters