The towers of Notre-Dame de Paris are 69 metres high. They are the two large western towers that dominate the cathedral’s façade and should not be confused with the much taller central spire, or flèche, that stood above the transept before the 2019 fire.
The south tower was built first, between 1220 and 1240. The north tower followed between 1235 and 1250 and is slightly larger, a difference most noticeable when the façade is viewed straight on. Together, the towers contain Notre-Dame’s principal bells and form one of the best-known Gothic façades in Europe.
A common mix-up comes from combining the tower height with the spire’s height. The medieval flèche was removed in 1786 and later replaced by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc’s 19th-century spire. That later spire made the cathedral’s overall height far greater than the 69-metre height of either tower.