Notre Dame sits on Ile de la Cite. This is where Paris was first developed since the river formed a natural barrier to attackers. On the island are Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle Church, and the Conciergerie.

Notre Dame was built from 1163 to 1330. It is 200 ft tall, 130 wide, and 400 ft long.. It can accommodate a congregation of 9000. The large rose stained glass windows in the front of the church is 32 ft in diameter (see photo 1 and 2). There is another similar rose window on the north side and one on the west side The north one is the only one that has survived essentially untouched.

By climbing about 300 stairs, you can get a great view of Paris. Since Notre Dame is in the very heart of Paris, I think this gives an even better view of the city than the Eiffel Tower.

Below are some pictures of the gargoyles (so named because the rain water drains through some of them and creates a gargling sound).

The photos below were taken after we had climbed another 200 steps to get to the very top of Notre Dame. If you know what you are looking for, you can see the Pompidou Center in photo 2 - it is on the right hand side of that picture.