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In 52 BC, at the time of Vercingetorix's struggle with Julius Caesar, a small Celtic tribe, the Parisii, lived on the island, which was a low-lying area subject to flooding that offered a convenient place to cross the Seine and a refuge in times of invasion. Here Saint Genevieve led the local people for defense, and here Clovis established a Merovingian capital.

Three medieval buildings remain on the Île de la Cité (east to west):

• The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris, built from 1163 on the site of a church dedicated to Saint Etienne, which in turn occupied a sacred pagan site of Roman times. During the French Revolution the cathedral was badly damaged, then restored by Viollet-le-Duc. A plaque in the square in front (Place du Parvis de Notre-Dame) is the zeropoint for measurements "from Paris."

The Île de la Cité from upstream: the chevetThis article is about an architectural feature; for the astronomical term see apsis. Tewkesbury Abbey. The apse is coloured gray (ambulatory and radiating chapels) and green (sanctuary). In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral and church archi of Notre Dame

• Louis IXEl Greco in the 16th Century. King Louis IX of France or Saint Louis ( April 25, 1214/ 1215 August 25, 1270) was King of France from 1226 to 1270. A member of the Capetian dynasty, he was born at Poissy, France, the son of King Louis VIII and Blanche of C's Sainte-ChapelleLa Sainte-Chapelle is a Gothic chapel on the Ile de la Cite in the heart of Paris, France. It is perhaps the high point of the full tide of Gothic architecture, called rayonnante. It was planned in 1241, started in 1246 and quickly completed: it was conse (1245), built as a reliquary to house the relics of the Crown of ThornsAlternate meanings: Crown-of-Thorns starfish In Christianity, the Crown of Thorns one of the instruments of the Passion, was the woven chaplet of thorn branches worn by Jesus before his crucifixion. It is mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew (27:29), Mark and a piece of the True CrossAccording to Christian tradition, the True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus Christ was crucified. According to medieval legend, the True Cross was built from the Tree of Jesse (father of King David), which became identified with the Tree of Knowledge t, enclosed within the Palais de JusticeThe Paris Hall of Justice Palais de Justice de Paris is located in the Ile de la Cite in central Paris, France. It is built on the location of the former royal palace of Saint Louis, from which the Sainte Chapelle still remains. It houses various courts:.

• The ConciergerieThe Conciergerie is a former prison in Paris, located on the west of the Ile de la Cite, near the Cathedral of Notre-Dame. It is part of the larger complex known as the Palais de Justice, which is still used for judicial purposes. The medieval Conciergeri prison, where Louis XVILouis XVI of France ( August 23, 1754 January 21, 1793) succeeded his grandfather ( Louis XV of France) as King of France on May 10, 1774; he was crowned on June 11, 1775. His father, the Louis dauphin son of Marie Leszczynska, had died in 1765. Louis was and Marie Antoinette awaited execution in 1793.

The oldest remaining residential quarter is the "Ancien Cloitre". Baron Haussmann demolished some streets here, but was dismissed in 1869, before the entire quarter was lost.

The small park at the downstream tip, the "stern" of the island-ship, is "Vert Galant" park, named for Henri IV of France, the "Green Gallant" king. It shows the original low-lying riverside level of the island. Nearby, a discreet plaque commemorates the spot where Jacques de Molay, Grand Master of the Knights Templar, was burnt at the stake, March 18, 1314.

The Île de la Cité is connected to the rest of Paris by bridges to both banks of the river and to the Île Saint-Louis. The oldest surviving bridge is the Pont Neuf ('New Bridge'), it lies at the western edge of the island. It has one station on the Paris Metro, " Cité", and the RER station "Saint-Michel-Notre-Dame" on the south bank has an exit on the island in front of the cathedral.