Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
lined with columns and flanked by side aisles. It's designed in the shape of a cross, with
the altar placed where the crossbeam intersects. The church can holdupto10,000faithful,
and it's probably buzzing with visitors now, just as it was 600 years ago. The quiet, deser-
ted churches we see elsewhere are in stark contrast to the busy, center-of-life places they
were in the Middle Ages.
Don't miss the
rose windows
that fill each of the transepts. Just past the altar is the
choir,
theareaenclosedwithcarved-woodwalls,wheremoreintimateservicescanbeheld
in this spacious building. Circle the choir—the back side of the choir walls feature
scenes
of the resurrected Jesus
(c. 1350). Just ahead on the right is the
Treasury.
It contains
lavish robes, golden reliquaries, and the humble tunic of King (and St.) Louis IX, but it
probably isn't worth the entry fee.
Back outside, walk around the church through the park on the riverside for a close
look at the
flying buttresses.
The Neo-Gothic 300-foot
spire
is a product of the 1860 re-
construction of the dilapidated old church. Around its base (visible as you approach the
back end of the church) are apostles and evangelists (the green men) as well as Eugène-
Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc, the architect in charge of the work. The apostles look outward,
blessing the city, while the architect (at top) looks up the spire, marveling at his fine work.
Nearby:
The
archaeological crypt
isaworthwhile15-minutestopifyouhaveaPar-
is Museum Pass (€4, covered by Museum Pass, Tue-Sun 10:00-18:00, closed Mon, last
entry 30 minutes before closing, enter 100 yards in front of the cathedral, tel. 01 55 42 50
10). You'll see remains of the many structures that have stood on this spot in the center
of Paris: Roman buildings that surrounded a temple of Jupiter; a wall that didn't keep the
Franks out; the main medieval road that once led grandly up the square to Notre-Dame;
and even (wow) a 19th-century sewer.
• Behind Notre-Dame, cross the street and enter through the iron gate into the park at the
tip of the island. Look for the stairs and head down to reach the...
▲
Deportation Memorial (Mémorial de la Déportation)
Thismemorialtothe200,000FrenchvictimsoftheNaziconcentrationcamps(1940-1945)
draws you into their experience. France was quickly overrun by Nazi Germany, and Paris
spent the war years under Nazi occupation. Jews and dissidents were rounded up and de-
ported—many never returned.
As you descend the steps, the city around you disappears. Surrounded by walls, you
have become a prisoner. Your only freedom is your view of the sky and the tiny glimpse
oftheriverbelow.Enterthedark,single-file chamber upahead. Inside,thecircular plaque
in the floor reads, “They went to the end of the earth and did not return.”