Walking Tours of Paris France - 1. Ile De La Cite

Ile de la Cite in Paris is a wonderful place to take a walking tour.  Only a tiny part of the city, it encapsulates much of what is magical about Paris.

Situated on Ile de la Cite is Notre Dame, one of the most famous landmarks in Paris.  There are some great shots of Notre Dame here in  http://www.travelguide.tv/paris.  And check out the other videos for Shopping, Paris Tours, Paris Attractions - there are nine tourist videos at www.travelguide.tv.

In many ways Ile de la Cite is the heart of Paris and was the original site of the city.  It is an oblong island right in the River Seine, surrounded by water, it is accessible by many bridges. It is linked to the other River Seine island, Ile de St Louis. The website TravelGuide.TV has Paris France videos on Tours, Museums, Attractions, Shopping and these will set up the atmosphere and magic of this great city.

Some 2000 years ago Ile de la Cite was inhabited by a number of Celtic tribes and it is from one of these tribes that the name of the city originated.  

The bridges linking the islands with the banks of the River Seine are in themselves evocative of Parisian themes, literature and the soul of the city - Pont Neuf, Point St Michel, Pont Notre Dame, Petit Pont, Pont D'Arcole and many more.

What to see on this walking tour of Paris?  Notre Dame Cathedral, Sainte Chapelle, Palais de Justice, the Paris Flower Market, The Archaeological Crypt, among many others.  Ile de la Cite is always bustling and crowded and you can marvel at the fleets of tourists walking along.

Apart from being the oldest part of Paris, Ile de la Cite is also the centre of the city - there is a small eight-point star set in the paving outside the front of Notre Dame de Paris.   That is the mark from which all distances from Paris are measured. 

Notre Dame in Paris is a chunky, immovable edifice with amazing flying buttresses and creepy gargoyles, it rises majestically beside the Seine.  It is almost a 1000 years since the church was started and it was finished around 1330.  During your visit, be sure to enjoy the deep colours of the West Rose Window (and there's a South Rose Window), check out the three magnificent main entry doors and statues, notice the contrast between the blocky towers at the front and the graceful elegant Spire to the side, marvel at the High Altar and the main Art treasures.     

Notre Dame is where Henri IV was married in 1572, this is where Napoleon famously crowned himself in 1804, in 1944 there was a major ceremony of Thanksgiving to celebrate the Liberation of Paris from the Nazis,