Notre-Dame Interior Audio Guide with Île de la Cité Guided Tour

Your tour will start on the Ile de la Cite, one of the two islands on the Seine River.

The Parisii: Origins and heritage of Paris
Roman conquest: Lutetia replaces Parisii
Decline and Christianization
Barbarian invasions
Historical legacy: Lutetia becomes Paris
"The Parisii and Nautes laid the foundations of Paris, combining wealth, commerce and spirituality. Their legacy remains visible in the modern city, a fascinating link with its ancient past. "

1. The Palais de Justice
2. Immerse yourself in the history of the Conciergerie
3. The star: the Sainte-Chapelle!
Some fun facts!
A quick construction site: The construction of the Sainte-Chapelle took only 7 years, a record for the time!
Unique acoustics: Today, classical music concerts are held there, offering a magical experience under the magnificent stained glass windows.

Let’s discover the Conciergerie clock
Installed in 1370, during the reign of Charles V, it was the first public clock in the capital.
Two golden statues frame the clock, representing fundamental principles:
On the left, the Law, imposing, which symbolizes order and rules.
On the right, Justice, with her sword and scales, embodying impartiality.

A name full of history: This bridge takes its name from the money changers who, in the Middle Ages, set up their shops there. These specialized merchants exchanged coins and currencies, making this place a strategic center for the Parisian economy.

The mystery of Friday the 13th and the Île de la Cité
The origins: a medieval drama
It all begins on Friday, October 13, 1307, when King Philip the Fair orders the arrest of all the Templars in France. These once powerful knights are accused of heresy and corruption.
This event marks the beginning of the end for the order of the Templars, which will be officially dissolved shortly after.

The City Hall: A place full of history and evolutions
An institution since 1357: The Hôtel de Ville has housed the municipal institutions of Paris since that date, when it became the seat of the provost of merchants, ancestor of our modern mayor. At that time, it managed public works, the city's supply, taxes and river trade.

An innovative bridge: Built in 1854, the Pont d'Arcole is famous for being the first metal bridge in Paris without intermediate pillars. A technical feat for the time!
Unusual anecdote: The Pont d'Arcole was the scene of many popular demonstrations, notably those of the Revolution of 1848.

The history of Rue de la Colombe
A house and doves: In the 13th century, a house on the Île de la Cité was home to a pair of doves that had built their nest there. According to legend, a sculptor of gargoyles from Notre-Dame raised these birds.
️ The disaster: One day, the house collapsed, trapping the female under the rubble, while the male managed to escape.
A touching devotion: Every day, the male flew across Paris to find seeds and water to feed his companion. He even used a piece of straw to make her drink water from the Seine.
A moving solidarity: The inhabitants, moved by this spectacle of fidelity and love, decided to free the female. Once reunited, the two birds flew into the sky in a dance of thanks, before the amazed eyes of the Parisians.

️ Rue Chanoinesse: a street full of history and mysteries
An old house and its legendary restaurant
A 16th century building: This charming house, built in 1512, is one of the oldest in Paris.
A religious past: It is said to have belonged to a canon of Notre-Dame, responsible for prayers and the direction of the choir.
A famous guest: It is said that Pope Clement VIII resided in this house.
A transformation into a wine bar: In the 18th century, the Bishopric sold it, and it became a wine bar. An inscription on the gate still bears witness to this period.

The back of Notre-Dame: The works and the reconstruction
The 2019 fire: a historic tragedy
April 15, 2019, 6:00 p.m.: A devastating fire starts in the roof of Notre-Dame, destroying almost the entire upper structure.
A heroic battle: Thanks to the efforts of 400 firefighters, the building is saved from total destruction.
️ The intact facade: Looking at the cathedral from the front, you might think that nothing happened, but the back shows the scars of this tragic event.
⚖️ A heated debate on renovation

The adventures of Notre-Dame: between titanic construction and miraculous survival
⏳ A construction site that spans generations
A colossal construction time: At a time when life expectancy was around 40 years, a worker who saw the first stone laid in 1163 would have had to live until the birth of his great-great-great-great-grandson to see the end of the work in the 14th century!
5 hours are enough to lose everything: In April 2019, the fire nearly wiped out nearly 800 years of history in just a few hours.

The construction site of the great organ of Notre-Dame
A titanic cleaning operation
️ Careful dusting: The 8,000 pipes of the organ, dismantled during the safety phase after the fire, were carefully cleaned and restored in October 2021.
️ A construction site within a construction site: This work was entrusted to three groups of organ builders, experts in this field.