2017 Notre-Dame de Paris attack

Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II is a city square in Paris, France. Located in the city's 4th arrondissement on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité, the square is bordered by the Hôtel-Dieu hospital to the north, the cathedral of Notre-Dame to the east, the Seine River to the south, and the Prefecture of Police headquarters to the west. The square contains France's point zéro marker, making it the very center of Paris for the purpose of measuring travel distance. Other points of interest include the Archaeological Crypt of the Île de la Cité and Charlemagne et ses Leudes, an equestrian statue of Charlemagne.

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Ardents (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃t ʒə.nə.vjɛv də.z‿aʁ.dɑ̃]), known as Sainte-Geneviève-la-Petite in the Middle Ages, was a church located at present-day Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul-II in the Île de la Cité in Paris, France. It is dedicated to Saint Genevieve, the miracles imputed to whom included "the cessation of a horrible plague, called the mal ardent, which desolated Paris in the reign of Louis le Gros".

The Basilica and Cathedral of Saint-Étienne in Paris, on the Île de la Cité, was an early Christian church that preceded Notre-Dame de Paris. It was built in the 4th or 5th century, directly in front of the location of the modern cathedral, and just 250 meters from the royal palace. It became one of the wealthiest and most prestigious churches in France. Nothing remains above the ground of the original cathedral. It was demolished beginning in about 1163, when construction began on Notre-Dame de Paris. Vestiges of the foundations remain beneath the pavement of the square in front of Notre-Dame and beneath the west front of the cathedral. The church was built and rebuilt over the years in the Merovingian, Carolingian and Romanesque architectural styles.

The Church of Saint-Jean-le-Rond, Paris (Église Saint-Jean-le-Rond de Paris) was a small church originally attached to the north side of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris near the west front, and close to the entrance of the cloister. It was built earlier than Notre-Dame, at about the same time as the church which preceded Notre-Dame, the Cathedral of Saint-Etienne. It was dedicated to John the Baptist, and was used primarily as a baptistry. It survived centuries longer than the Cathedral of Saint Etienne, but was finally demolished in the early 18th century to make room for a new street, the rue du Cloître-Notre-Dame.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: Archidioecesis Parisiensis; French: Archidiocèse de Paris) is one of twenty-three archdioceses of the Catholic Church in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been created in the 3rd century by St. Denis and corresponded with the Civitas Parisiorum; it was elevated to an archdiocese on October 20, 1622. Before that date the bishops were suffragan to the archbishops of Sens.

The Hôtel-Dieu (French pronunciation: ​[otɛldjø]) is a hospital located on the Île de la Cité in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, on the parvis of Notre-Dame. It was supposedly founded by Saint Landry in 651 AD, making it the oldest hospital in the city and the oldest worldwide still operating. The Hôtel-Dieu was the only hospital in the city until the Renaissance. While the old Hôtel-Dieu stood by the Seine on the opposite side of the parvise, it was ravaged by fire several times, and was rebuilt for the last time at its present location between 1867 and 1878, as part of Haussmann's renovation of Paris. Nowadays operated by Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris (AP-HP), the Hôtel-Dieu is also a teaching hospital associated with the Faculté de Médecine Paris-Descartes.

The Bouquinistes of Paris, France, are booksellers of used and antiquarian books and rare vintage postcards who ply their trade along large sections of the banks of the Seine: on the right bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre, and on the left bank from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire. The Seine is thus described as 'the only river in the world that runs between two bookshelves'.

The siege of Paris of 885–886 was part of a Viking raid on the Seine, in the Kingdom of the West Franks. The siege was the most important event of the reign of Charles the Fat, and a turning point in the fortunes of the Carolingian dynasty and the history of France. It also proved for the Franks the strategic importance of Paris at a time when it also was one of the largest cities in West Francia. The siege is the subject of an eyewitness account in the Latin poem Bella Parisiacae urbis of Abbo Cernuus. With hundreds of ships, and possibly tens of thousands of men, the Vikings arrived outside Paris in late November 885, demanding tribute. This was denied by Odo, Count of Paris, despite the fact he could assemble only several hundred soldiers to defend the city. The Vikings attacked with a variety of siege engines but failed to break through the city walls despite days of intense attacks. The siege was maintained for months but without any significant assaults after the initial attack. As the siege continued, most of the Vikings left Paris to pillage further upriver. The Vikings made a final unsuccessful attempt to take the city during the summer. In October, Charles the Fat arrived with his army. To the frustration of the Parisians who had fought to defend the city, Charles stopped short of attacking the Viking invaders. Instead, he allowed them to sail further up the Seine to raid Burgundy (which was in revolt) and promised a payment of 700 livres (257 kg) of silver. Odo, highly critical of this, attempted to defy Charles' promises. When Charles died in 888, Odo was elected the first non-Carolingian king of the Franks.

The siege of Paris of 845 was the culmination of a Viking invasion of West Francia. The Viking forces were led by a Norse chieftain named "Reginherus", or Ragnar, who tentatively has been identified with the legendary saga character Ragnar Lodbrok. Reginherus's fleet of 120 Viking ships, carrying thousands of men, entered the Seine in March and sailed up the river. The Frankish king Charles the Bald assembled a smaller army in response but after the Vikings defeated one division, comprising half of the army, the remaining forces retreated. The Vikings reached Paris at the end of the month, during Easter. They plundered and occupied the city, withdrawing after Charles the Bald paid a ransom of 7,000 French livres [2,570 kg (83,000 ozt)] in gold and silver.

Île de la Cité (French: [il də la site]; English: City Island) is an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the Roman governor. In 508 Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace on the island. In the 12th century it became an important religious center, the home of Notre-Dame cathedral, and the royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, as well as the city's first hospital: the Hôtel-Dieu. It is also the site of the city's oldest surviving bridge, the Pont Neuf. With the departure of the French kings to the Louvre Palace and then to the Palace of Versailles, the island became France's judicial centre. In 1302 it hosted the first meeting of the Parliament of Paris and was later the site of the trials of aristocrats in the French Revolution. Today, it is the home of the Prefecture de Police, the Palais de Justice, and the Tribunal de commerce de Paris. The Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation, a memorial to the 200,000 people deported from Vichy France to the Nazi concentration camps during the Second World War, is located at the eastern end of the island. The city's most famous landmark, Notre-Dame de Paris, was badly damaged by a fire in 2019 and is closed, but it is expected to reopen in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024. As of 2016, the island's population was 891.

Lutetia, (UK: loo-TEESH-ə, also US: ; Latin: [luːˈteːtia]; French: Lutèce [lytɛz]) also known as Lutetia Parisiorum ( pə-RIZ-i-OR-əm; Latin: [... pariːsiˈoːrʊ̃ː]; lit. 'Lutetia of the Parisii'), was a Gallo–Roman town and the predecessor of modern-day Paris. Traces of an earlier Neolithic settlement (c. 4500 BC) have been found nearby, and a larger settlement was established around the middle of the 3rd century BC by the Parisii, a Gallic tribe. The site was an important crossing point of the Seine, the intersection of land and water trade routes. In the 1st century BC, the settlement was conquered by Romans and a city began to be built. Remains of the Roman forum, amphitheatre, aqueduct and baths can still be seen. In the 5th century it became the capital of the Merovingian dynasty of French kings, and thereafter was known as Paris. Many artifacts from Lutetia have been recovered and are on display at the Musée Carnavalet.

The Petit Pont (Little Bridge) is a bridge crossing the River Seine in Paris, built in 1853, although a structure has crossed the river at this point since antiquity. The present bridge is a single stone arch linking the 4th arrondissement and the Île de la Cité, with the 5th arrondissement, between quai de Montebello and quai Saint-Michel. The Petit Pont is notable for having been destroyed, at least thirteen times since its original inception during Gallo-Roman times to the mid-19th century. It is served by the Metro station Saint-Michel.