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Île de la Cité, Paris

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Île de la Cité as seen from the west, with the Pont Neuf bridge
Author: David Monniaux (Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported)

Île de la Cité is a small island on the River Seine in the 4th arrondissement, in the middle of Paris. The island is fully developed with numerous sights on it. In fact, Île de la Cité is the location of the medieval city of Paris. The island has been inhabited as early as the Merovingian dynasty, around the middle of the 5th century. There has been a good number of bridges linking Île de la Cité with both the Left Bank and Right Bank of the Seine. In the old days, some of these bridges had houses built on them. During times of massive floods, a few of these bridges were swept away, the houses with them. Eventually, all houses on bridges were removed in 1786. Today Île de la Cité is regarded as the heart of Paris, with "zero kilometer" calculated from the Place du Parvis de Notre-Dame, the square in front of Notre-Dame's west end-towers. Sainte-Chapelle, Paris Author: Didier B (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Generic) Île de la Cité has numerous tourist attractions, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris. I will describe each of these sights within their own pages, as listed on in the column on the right. How to go to Île de la Cité You can reach Île de la Cité by taking the Paris Métro to the Cité metro station. Not far away on the Left Bank of the Seine is the Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame RER Station. If you are exploring on foot, you can reach Île de la Cité on any of its numerous bridges. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris Author: Hadonos (public domain)