Île de la Cité: Where Paris Began

The Île de la Cité sits in the very heart of Paris, and it is where the city's story began. "Cité" itself means the center of an ancient town, and this island has been Paris's core since the very beginning. Artifacts unearthed here suggest people may have lived on the island as far back as the Paleolithic era, but the first firmly documented chapter belongs to the Celts in the 3rd century BC. Even the name "Paris" comes from the Parisii, a Celtic tribe who lived here. For travelers, both its history and its location make it a perfect place to start exploring the city.

The island is tiny: you can walk all the way around its edge in about 30 minutes. Yet it packs in the city's courthouse and police headquarters, two Gothic masterpieces, Notre-Dame Cathedral and Sainte-Chapelle, the Conciergerie where Marie Antoinette was imprisoned, and the Pont Neuf. The Cité metro station sits right in the middle of the island, and Notre-Dame is within a five-minute walk of the exit. Let's begin at Notre-Dame.