Notre-Dame de Paris: Journey Back in Time

On April 15, 2019, the world witnessed as Notre-Dame Cathedral was nearly destroyed in a devastating fire. While the cathedral is currently closed for restoration, it is still possible to visit it thanks to Ubisoft’s VR experience. At the heart of the videogame Assassin’s Creed : Unity , the 3D reconstitution of Notre-Dame de Paris was the result of 5000 hours of detailed graphic work, guided by historians. Adapted from on this acclaimed model, the virtual visit offers multiple point-of-views, some of which were inaccessible to the public, and ends spectacularly with a hot-air balloon flight over its arches, in a lively environment of Paris in the XVIIIth century. In a 4 to 9 square meters zone, the visitor is invited to look around and take a few steps to admire each perspective of the monument, to the sound of its famous Cavaillé-Coll Organ performing J.S. Bach. This experience has been shown for the first time at the UNESCO Headquarters on Heritage Days 2019 and was part of the South by Southwest Virtual Cinema 2020 selection.