Paris trip 5: Notre-Dame de Paris and Shakespeare bookstore

I had the opportunity to visit Notre Dame de Paris twice, once in mid-October 2021 and once in January 2022. It was unfortunate when I only came to this Cathedral after the devastating fire three years ago. The purpose of my visit for a closed place is to see the progress of the renovation of the historical Cathedral and also want to wander around the oldest area of Paris. Besides Notre Dame, I stopped by a discreet but famous location nearby, the Shakespeare bookstore.

1. Notre Dame de Paris

I came to the Notre Dame in the early morning, everything around was extremely quiet.

The Cathedral was being under reconstruction. The front of the historical building was still remained after the severe fire.

I was very impressed with the way the government decorated the barriers around the Cathedral, these were, the images showing intact artifacts after the fire, the reconstruction process, the description of the working conditions of engineers and workers here in the form of a comic. Very creative!

Near the Notre Dame were stalls selling newspapers, paintings, old books and souvenirs. I find these traditional stalls very popular in France.

2. Shakespeare Bookstore

Nestled in an alley near the Notre Dame is the Shakespeare English-language bookstore. This 70-year-olds bookstore used to be a shelter for many writers who did not have much money.

Unlike what I imagined before visiting, the books here were not as “cheap” as I thought. Besides, the inner space of the bookstore was bigger than I expected.

The bookstore has beds between book shelves where the writers were invited to sleep for free in exchange for helping the shop several hours and agreeing to read a book per day. What a creative way for supporting people.

These corners used to be resting areas and places for composing of writers. Very warm, in my opinion.

I loved this table. It has all the features of an ideal place for working, including plants, bookshelves surrounded and especially the view of Notre Dame Cathedral and old Parisian residences.

Aggie cat, a family member of Shakespeare bookstore. She was loved and cherished by many visitors.

Like writers, she had a bed too. There was a lovely do-not-disturb warning beside her bed.

I really enjoyed walking around the area of Notre Dame and Shakespeare bookstore. It gives me a feeling of peace and relaxation, unlike other crowded places in Paris.