ile de la cité – Page 2 – Paris History of our Streets

Notre Dame Cathedral is the most visited monument in Europe, receiving about 12 million visitors annually (in contrast to the Eiffel Tower, which receives about half that) and as many as 30,000 people per day. If you’ve ever walked past the parvis (the open area directly in front of the cathedral doors), you know this isn’t an exaggeration; the notoriously long, snaking line to enter seems to have a life of its own as it twists and turns with no formal line boundaries to accommodate everyone waiting to get in.

**Notre Dame Cathedral and the open public space before it, known as the parvis.**

The funny thing is that as these people gaze up towards the 850+ year old towers, an entire museum lays right under their feet. The Archeological Crypt of Notre Dame is my favorite under-rated Paris attraction that doesn’t even make a bleep on most tourist radar and its overlooked entry sits just beyond the parvis. Which is disappointing, because here under the cathedral beats the historical heart of Paris, and walking through it brings you back through 2,000 years of history to a time when Paris was known as the Gallo-Roman city of Lutecia. Throughout Paris and especially on the île de la Cité (the small island where Notre Dame sits and the very center of the city) the history of the city remains underground and built up in layers, with entire time periods superimposed on each other.

You do some serious digging around here and you are bound to hit a goldmine of history. Which is exactly what happened at the parvis of Notre Dame in 1965 when construction crews discovered vestiges dating as far back as antiquity while they began work for an underground parking garage (which never happened thank god). Over the next 15 years, excavation teams uncovered the foundations (dating as far back as the first century AD) of entire neighborhoods as well as a shipping port, sections of former ramparts, wells, even Roman baths where a sub-ground heating system can still be seen.

**The excavation work which uncovered a goldmine of Paris history**

Incredibly, with the help of historical records researchers were even able to identify the owners of medieval cellars uncovered here!Over time, these were covered and new homes were built on top of the old ones, slowly raising the ground level and modifying the shape of the island as time went on. When they were rediscovered, instead of covering them up to be forgotten; they were carefully unearthed and studied, then transformed into this fabulous, interactive museum which opened in 1980. I highly recommend anyone interested in Paris history and archeology to check out this museum, (tickets are only 5 euro!) which is always free of lines and crowds unlike other popular tourist attractions. Its not huge but if you want in-depth information of how Paris has transformed itself through the past two millennia you could easily spent an hour or two here.

Have you visited the crypt? If so, what did you think?

26 rue Chanoinesse, 4ème arrondissement Ile de la Cité.

The very heart of Paris for nearly 2,000 years sits on a small island right in the center of the city. And if you walk past the dozen tourist shops and cafés selling post cards and expensive crappy coffée, nestled just behind the towers of Notre Dame Cathedral is a beautiful little medieval street that was spared during the great renovation works of Paris in the 19th century that left the rest of Ile de la Cité basically leveled. This street was home to the clergy of Notre Dame since the 14th century, as well as the clergy to the previous church that existed there before then. It’s reminants are still present, hidden behind massive doors to sleepy buildings.

There are 2 very important things to know when you are in Paris. 1. Always go through open doors that are usually locked if the opportunity to do so arises. There are many special hidden corridors (called coure in french. They lead to buildings behind the main building you see on the street) on the other side of big doors in Paris and it is an unspoken rule that you can always enter if you can manage to get through the door, which is usually always locked and accessable by a code 2. If you are in an old building, always check out the bathroom. More on that another day..

What’s behind the door?

Behind the red door at number 26 (I waited outside for approximately 4 minutes until a lady left and let me enter. She gave me a look like, “I know you don’t live here but IDGAF”) is an obviously old and narrow corridor leading to the entries of several apartment buildings. It is believed that this used to be an alley way leading to the parallel Rue des Ursins.

Watch your step here, and not just to avoid a broken ankle on the uneven cobblestone. You are walking upon the tombstones of the dead. If you look along the left wall at the ground, you can make out gothic style latin lettering, faded over hundreds of years of footsteps. Apparently these are the re-purposed tombstones of long gone religious members that used to reside in this area. So much for respecting the dead eh?

Tag: ile de la cité

The Archeological Crypt of Notre Dame Cathedral

Recycled Tombstones