You won’t reach Notre-Dame in Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse by climbing toward the cathedral outside Dracula’s Castle. The way in is a large painting of Notre-Dame inside the castle’s Main Hall. It stays inert until Rose has two things from two different bosses, and one of those bosses is locked behind a third.
Quick answer: Set The Artist as your Arcana, keep Brauner’s Paintbrush with you, and use the Notre-Dame canvas in the Gallery of Eternal Night, located in the Main Hall.
Notre-Dame unlock requirements
The painting checks for two conditions at the moment you interact with it. Both must be true at the same time.
- The Artist Arcana is equipped. It comes from Brauner and carries the Masterpiece spell.
- You receive Brauner’s Paintbrush after defeating Carmilla in the Library, and it will be in your inventory.
- To free Brauner at all, you need the Smash ability. It comes from Talos, The Builder.
That means three bosses stand between you and the cathedral. You can tackle Carmilla before or after the other two, but Talos has to come before Brauner.
| Boss | Arcana | Where | Health |
|---|---|---|---|
 Talos | The Builder | Clock Tower | 5000 |
 Brauner | The Artist | Main Hall (Brauner’s Atelier) | 4250 |
 Carmilla | The Occultist | Library (Observatory) | 4500 |
Talos grants Smash. Brauner rewards the Masterpiece spell through The Artist. Carmilla rewards Blood Spikes and gives up the Paintbrush that the painting needs.
Get Smash from Talos in the Clock Tower
Find Talos, The Builder, in the Throne of the Builder at the southwest edge of the Clock Tower map. Defeating him grants Smash, Rose’s midair downward dive. Smash shatters fragile blocks bearing golden cracks and damages anything Rose lands on. While airborne, hold down and press jump to perform it: use Down + Cross on PlayStation or S + Space on PC.
Free Brauner in Brauner’s Atelier to get The Artist
Brauner is trapped inside a stone sculpture in his atelier in the Main Hall. Smash is the only way to crack it open.
Brauner beaten alone won’t open Notre-Dame. The painting still needs his paintbrush, and Carmilla has it.
Get Brauner’s Paintbrush from Carmilla in the Library
Carmilla, The Occultist, waits at the very top of the Library in the Observatory. Getting there means working through most of the Library, then the Planetarium and the Observation Tower. Along the way, three constellation puzzles ask you to light specific stars by bouncing between planets.
| Constellation | Stars to light |
|---|---|
| The Vitruvian Man | Lower stars, half-shield shape |
| The Vitruvian Woman | Lightning shape, like an inverted Z |
| The Vitruvian Skeleton | Bow shape, one star left and three right |
Once the puzzles are done, climb into the Observatory and beat Carmilla. She has 4500 health and hits harder than Brauner, so bring healing.
After the fight, pick up Brauner’s Paintbrush in the Observatory. It’s a key item that Carmilla had “borrowed” from Brauner, and it goes straight to your inventory.
Activate the Notre-Dame painting in the Gallery of Eternal Night
With both items in hand, head back to the Main Hall. If you’ve unlocked the mirror connections, fast travel to the Elevator Tower area to save time.
Leave Masterpiece uncast and its gargoyle unsummoned; equipping The Artist alone is sufficient.
Rose’s Tarot responds to the canvas, and a short exchange then takes place inside the painting. Rose later reappears at Notre-Dame’s doors, making the cathedral available as a travel destination. Once inside, head from the entrance down the nave toward the transept. Corrupted organ pipes stop your progress there; play three melodies on the large organ to get past them.
