Missing image
DSC00679_Ile_de_la_Cite.JPG
The Île de la Cité seen from the west, downstream

The Île de la Cité, an island in the Seine river, is the center of Paris, France, and the location where the city was founded.

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History

In 52 BC, at the time of Vercingetorix' struggle with Julius Caesar, a small Celtic tribe, the Parisii, lived on the island, which was a low-lying area subject to flooding that offered a convenient place to cross the Seine and a refuge in times of invasion. Here Saint Genevieve led the local people for defense, and here Clovis established a Merovingian capital.

Sights

Three medieval buildings remain on the Île de la Cité (east to west):

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DSC00732_Notre_Dame_Paris_from_east.jpg
The Île de la Cité from upstream: the chevet of Notre Dame

The oldest remaining residential quarter is the "Ancien Cloître". Baron Haussmann demolished some streets here, but was dismissed in 1869, before the entire quarter was lost.

The small park at the downstream tip, the "stern" of the island-ship, is "Vert Galant" park, named for Henri IV of France, the "Green Gallant" king. It shows the original low-lying riverside level of the island. Nearby, a discreet plaque commemorates the spot where Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burnt at the stake, March 18, 1314.

Transportation

The Île de la Cité is connected to the rest of Paris by bridges to both banks of the river and to the Île Saint-Louis. The oldest surviving bridge is the Pont Neuf ('New Bridge'), it lies at the western edge of the island.

The island has one station on the Paris Metro, "Cité", and the RER station "Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame" on the Left Bank has an exit on the island in front of the cathedral.

External link

de:Île de la Cité et:Cité fr:Île de la Cité nl:Île de la Cité ja:シテ島 pl:Île de la Cité

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