What it is
The church was built with convict labour to plans drawn by a former convict and was blessed in 1890, before its façade and towers were finished. It has been the seat of the Archdiocese of Nouméa since 1966 and was listed as a French historic monument in 1992.
The Latin-cross nave is 56 m long, with vaults and roof timbers of kauri wood. Inside are 28 stained-glass windows, choir woodwork in tamanu, holy-water fonts made from giant clam shells and a Mutin Cavaillé-Coll organ from 1908. A statue of Joan of Arc, a gift from the diocese of Orléans, has stood on the forecourt since 1901.
Getting there by bus
The Victoire stops, about 150 m below the cathedral, are served by lines L4, L5 and N1. Lines L3, L4 and L5 also stop at Musée Territorial, about 300 m away.
Place Moselle, where Néobus line L1 and all other city-centre lines stop, is about 350 m to the south-west.
