Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · edited
Pope Leo XIV is in Paris on Friday 25 and Saturday 26 September 2026, and the visit closes metro and RER stations, shuts Notre-Dame to the public and bans traffic across large parts of the centre. The City of Paris restrictions page, updated on 22 September, sets out the perimeters, and the police prefecture is closing stations on both days.
The biggest single event is an open-air Mass at 3pm on Saturday on the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées. On Friday, the pope rides a papamobile through the Latin Quarter and visits UNESCO, which closes a second cluster of stations, Sortiraparis reports.
If you are in Paris those two days, plan around the Left Bank on Friday and the western centre on Saturday. The same week also brings a national rail strike on Tuesday 29 September, so check any onward train as well.
- Friday 25 September: stations along the papamobile route closed from 10am, and five near UNESCO from noon to 6pm.
- Saturday 26 September: six metro stations around the Concorde and the Champs-Élysées closed from 10pm Friday to 8pm Saturday.
- Notre-Dame: closed to the public on 24 and 25 September; open only from 5pm to 10pm on 26 September.
- Also closed Friday: the Conciergerie and the Sainte-Chapelle.
- Status date: City of Paris page updated 22 September 2026; station lists also from Sortiraparis.
Friday: Papamobile Route and UNESCO Closures
The papamobile travels from the church of Notre-Dame-des-Champs in the 6th arrondissement to the Place Saint-Michel in the 5th from 4pm on Friday. The city says a protection perimeter applies from 10am to 8pm, with no traffic in it from 6am to 8pm and no parking from 11am on Thursday 24 September. Shops on the route close from 10am.
Sortiraparis lists the stations closed from 10am along the route: Notre-Dame-des-Champs (line 12), Vavin and Saint-Placide (line 4), Port-Royal and Luxembourg (RER B), Saint-Michel and Saint-Michel Notre-Dame (line 4, RER B and RER C) and Cité (line 4). It says a reopening time has not been announced.
For the UNESCO visit in the 7th arrondissement, Sortiraparis reports that Varenne, Ségur, École Militaire, Saint-François-Xavier and Duroc close from noon to 6pm. Many bus lines will be diverted or cut back, the city says.
Notre-Dame and the Ile de la Cité Locked Down
Notre-Dame is closed to the public all day on Thursday 24 and Friday 25 September for a celebration in the cathedral on Friday. On Saturday 26 September it opens only from 5pm to 10pm, the city says. The Conciergerie and the Sainte-Chapelle are closed on Friday.
Traffic is banned on the Ile de la Cité, part of the Ile Saint-Louis and the Seine quays nearby from 6am to 8pm on Friday. River traffic is stopped on the Bras de la Monnaie from 1pm to 7pm and on the Bras Marie from 3pm to 7pm, and the Left Bank bouquinistes stay shut until 8pm.
Saturday: Mass at Concorde and Champs-Élysées Stations Shut
The Place de la Concorde has been fully closed since 16 September for the Mass set-up, along with half of the Champs-Élysées and several nearby streets. Dismantling runs from noon on 28 September to 10 October, the city says.
Six metro stations in the Mass perimeter close from 10pm on Friday 25 September to 8pm on Saturday 26 September: Charles de Gaulle Étoile, George V, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Champs-Élysées Clemenceau, Concorde and Alma-Marceau. Trains run through closed stations without stopping, and connections there are not available.
Early on Saturday, the pope also visits the Maison Bakhita in the 18th arrondissement, where access is controlled from 7am to 10am.
Getting Around Paris on 25 and 26 September
On Friday, avoid changing trains at Saint-Michel, and if you are heading to the airports on RER B, board away from the closed Left Bank stations. On Saturday, the Arc de Triomphe and Concorde area has no metro stops until the evening, so use stations outside the perimeter and allow time to walk.
Museums and sights on the Ile de la Cité are the ones most affected. Book Notre-Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie for another day if you can.
| If you plan to… | What to do |
|---|---|
| Visit Notre-Dame on 24 or 25 Sept | Closed. Go on 26 Sept from 5pm or another day. |
| See the Sainte-Chapelle on Friday | Closed on 25 Sept. Rebook. |
| Take RER B through the Left Bank on Friday | Board away from Saint-Michel, Luxembourg and Port-Royal. |
| Use the Champs-Élysées metro on Saturday | Six stations shut until 8pm. Walk from outside the zone. |
| Drive in central Paris either day | Avoid it. Large areas are closed to traffic. |
Two zones, two days. The Left Bank and the Ile de la Cité on Friday, the Concorde and Champs-Élysées on Saturday.
Sights closed. Notre-Dame, the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie are shut on Friday.
Stations shut. More than a dozen metro and RER stations close across the two days.
Is Notre-Dame open during the pope’s visit?
No, it is closed on 24 and 25 September. On 26 September it opens only from 5pm to 10pm.
Which metro stations are closed on 26 September?
Charles de Gaulle Étoile, George V, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Champs-Élysées Clemenceau, Concorde and Alma-Marceau, until 8pm.
When is the pope’s Mass in Paris?
Saturday 26 September at 3pm, on the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées.
Is the Sainte-Chapelle closed on 25 September?
Yes. The city says the Sainte-Chapelle and the Conciergerie are closed to the public on Friday.
