Notre Dame Cathedral, Towers and Ile de la Cité

For the last thousand years Notre Dame has been the living heart of not just Paris but of France as a whole. Indeed it is the point from which every distance in the country is measured. Brought to life by Victor Hugo’s Hunchback of Notre Dame, this grand cathedral with its flying buttresses and leering gargoyles is a familiar sight for even first-time visitors to Paris. So what better place to kick-start your vacation in the City of Light?

Our tour begins on Ile de la Cité, an island in the middle of the Seine River. This tiny space has been home to kings, numerous revolutions and the city’s famous gargoyles. Lorded over by the imposing bell towers and razor sharp spires of Notre Dame, this is quintessential Paris in a perfectly preserved bubble.

Follow your English-speaking guide on a tour of Parisian history, through the picturesque streets of Ilé de la Cité and into the cathedral itself. Here you will be surprised by the simultaneously sparce yet somehow extravagant interior of Notre Dame. Marvel at the bare grey arches, the kaleidoscopic stained glass windows and the immense organ. As beautiful as it is intimidating, Notre Dame is a truly unique, sometimes contradictory monument to craftsmanship and medieval planning.

For the icing on the cake, skip the long lines and climb the 411 steps up to the cathedral towers. Follow in the footsteps of the Hunchback of Notre Dame as you duck into the bell tower and gaze upon a gargoyle’s-view of Paris, unquestionably one of the city’s best vistas.