Ile de la Cite

Ile de la Cite, home to the Parisii tribe of the Sequana river who were then conquered by Julius Caesar in 52 B.C., converted into the Roman city of Lutetia and was then made military, social and economic centre for the Romans in France. In the middle ages, Movis, the first leader of the Franks built the Palais de la Cite - a Merovingian palace as his royal residence. The middle ages gave birth to some of the most prominent monuments on the island - Notre Dame Cathedral, Conciergerie and Sainte Chapelle. In the middle ages, the island served as one of the most important political and military centres. 

During the Siege of Paris in 885-886, King of Francia, Odo, used this island to his advantage, to defend his kingdom from organised viking attacks. It is only in the 19th century that Haussmann revamped the island by pulling down a lot of structures to give space to wide roads, and vast avenues. During earlier times, wooden bridges were built on the river to link the island with the banks, but these wooden bridges used to float away with the river. Later, stone bridges were adopted to resolve this problem but it didn’t make much difference. The Pont Neuf was the first bridge that actually survived the strong gushes of the river. The eastern end of the Île de la Cité holds a deportation memorial for the French civilians who were transferred to the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War II. The memorial contains two hundred thousand lit crystals on dark walls to honor and commemorate the dead, and one flickering light dedicated to the unknown dead.

The long and broad historical changes that Ile de la Cite experienced in its age-old existence, it has been gifted with some of the most majestic architectural marvels that make it up to the must-visit list of top places in France. Some of these monuments are the sky-scraping Notre Dame Cathedral, kaleidoscopic Sainte Chappelle, former prison-now court La Conciergerie, former-palace Palais de La Justice and the remarkable Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation.

1. Notre-Dame Cathedral

Address: 6 Parvis Notre-Dame - Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Friday - 8:00 AM - 6:45 PM; Saturday & Sunday - 8:00 AM - 7:15 PM
Details: notredamedeparis.fr/

2. Sainte Chappelle

Address: 8 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Sunday - 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Details: sainte-chappelle.fr/

3. La Conciergerie

Address: 2 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Sunday - 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM
Details: paris-conciergerie.fr/

4. Palais de la Justice

Address: 10 Boulevard du Palais, 75001 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Friday - 8:30 AM - 6:30 PM; Saturday & Sunday closed
Details: ca-paris.justice.fr/

5. Memorial des Martyrs de la Deportation

Address: Square de l'Ile-de-France, 7 Quai de l'Archevêché, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Tuesday to Sunday - 10:00 AM - 6:30 PM; Monday closed
Details: cheminsdememoire.gouv.fr/fr/memorial-des-martyrs-de-la-deportation

The narrow bylanes of Paris open into wide spectrums of squares and parks where locals and visitors can come to relax and enjoy a warm time amongst flowery trees and pleasant breeze. The first andorrisement of Paris, Ile de la Cite has a number of public squares that one can take a stroll in or sit at the benches to admire the nature around. As Ile de la Cite is house to some important monuments, sitting around at these squares to catch a quick breath sounds wonderful.

1. Place Dauphine

Address: 75001 Paris, France
Time Spent: 1 hour approx. 

2. Square du Vert Galant

Address: 15 Place du Pont Neuf, 75001 Paris, France
Time Spent: 2 hours approx.

3. Square Jean XXIII

Address: 4 Parvis Notre-Dame - Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France
Time Spent: 2-3 hours

4. Place Jean Paul II

Address: Parvis Notre-Dame - Pl. Jean-Paul II, 75004 Paris, France
Time Spent: 2 hours

The island of Ile de la Cite is not as famous as the newer island in Paris for shopping but it has a few choice shops to immerse in quality shopping. Someone looking for unique and antique items should also drop by at these local shops to see if they can find something worth a buy. There are two major shopping stops at Isle de la Cite - Marche aux Fleurs is the perfect place for buying fresh flowers and birds while many local shops can be found on Rue d’Arcole and Boulevard du Palais.

1. Marche aux Fleurs

Address: 37 Place Louis Lépine, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Sunday - 09:30 AM - 06:45 PM

9 out of 37 bridges of Paris help connect Ile de la Cite to the right and left banks of the rest of the Paris. One of the most significant bridges that helps connect Ile de la Cite is Pont Neuf. There’s another bridge that helps connect both the islands - Ile de la Cite and Ile Saint-Louis - named Pont Saint Louis. From the other 7 bridges, the most significant ones are  Pont Saint-Michel, Pont Notre Dame.

1. Pont Neuf

Address: 75001 Paris, France
Connects: Ile de la Cite to the left banks of Paris

2. Pont Saint Louis

Address: Pont Saint-Louis, 75004 Paris, France
Connects: Ile de la Cite to Ile Saint Louis

3. Pont Saint Michel

Address: Pont Saint-Michel, 75006 Paris, France
Connects: Isle de la Cite to Place Saint Michel in the left banks of Paris

4. Pont Notre Dame

Address: 77 Quai de la Corse, 75004 Paris, France
Connects: Ile de la Cite to quai de Gesvres on the Rive Droite to the right banks of Paris

The complete experience of this natural island in Paris also requires one to visit any of these adorably aesthetic cafes to try some of their authentic dishes. Visitors can visit the Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole for its romantic aesthetics and delicious seafood, Au Bougnat’s reasonable prices and mouth-watering hamburgers, Brasserie Les Deux Palais for incredible service and amazing salads, Le Quasimodo Notre Dame for breakfast crepes and breezy outdoors.

1. Au Vieux Paris d’Arcole

Address: 24 Rue Chanoinesse, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Friday - 11:00 AM - 03:00 PM, 06:00 PM - 11:00 PM; Saturday & Sunday - 12:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Details: restaurantauviuexparis.fr/

2. Au Bougnat

Address: 26 Rue Chanoinesse, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Friday - 12:00 PM - 03:00 PM, 06:30 PM - 10:00 PM; Sunday & Saturday - 12:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Details: aubougnat.com

3. Brasserie Les Deux Palais

Address: 3 Boulevard du Palais, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Friday - 06:30 PM - 09:30 PM Sunday & Saturday - 07:30 PM - 09:30 PM
Details: brasserielesdeuxpalais.fr/

4. Le Quasimodo Notre Dame

Address: 11 Rue d'Arcole, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Sunday - 09:00 AM - 08:00 PM

One of the most basic joys of traveling to a foreigh destination is the idea of carrying back a small token for remembrance. Souvenir hunting is a popular sport amongst visitors - the want to buy something that captures one’s experience that can be gifted to loved ones. Ile de la Cite makes for a resplendent souvenir hunting location - many shops have popped up in and around the famous historical monuments on the island.

1. Souvenir’s Factory

Address: 6 Quai du Marché Neuf, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Sunday to Thursday - 10:00 AM - 07:00 PM; Friday & Saturday - 10:00 AM - 08:00 PM

2. Souvenirs and Services

Address: 5 Boulevard du Palais, 75004 Paris, France
Timings: Monday to Friday - 07:30 PM - 08:00 PM Sunday & Saturday - 10:00 PM - 08:00 PM

3. Aux Chimeres de Notre Dame

Address: 20 Rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame, 75004 Paris, France

The Île de la Cité is connected to the rest of the city by bridges on both banks of the river. The Pont Neuf is the oldest and most well known bridge out of them. The island has one metro station; The Cité, and the RER station Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame on the left bank. These are the most convenient ways to get to the island.
Bus: 21, 24, 27, 38, 58, 70, 85, 96