A Preface to Paris: from the Île de la Cité to the Opéra Garnier

We begin where Paris began — on the Île de la Cité. Two thousand years ago, a Gaulish tribe called the Parisii built their first homes on this small island in the Seine. Gothic spires, gargoyles, flying buttresses overhead. Inside Notre-Dame: cream-coloured, porous stone. Rose windows, stained glass in cobalt and deep blue. Those who laid the first stones in the twelfth century never saw the finished cathedral. A flower market, the Conciergerie — where Marie Antoinette was held before the guillotine — and steps away, the Place Dauphine, one of the quietest corners in Paris. Gravel underfoot, locals playing pétanque, buckwheat crêpes with salted caramel. Down to the Seine, through the Louvre's courtyard, into the hidden garden of the Palais-Royal. Then the covered arcades: a bookseller, a wine merchant, a chocolatier. The walk ends at the Opéra Garnier — gold, marble, bronze, the high point of Second Empire excess. Where Paris declared itself the centre of the world. Eight centuries in three hours.

Notre-Dame Cathedral The interior, the stained glass, the flying buttresses and spire. An architectural symphony in one of the world's great cathedrals. The Île de la Cité The flower market, the oldest clock in Paris, views across to the Hôtel de Ville. The Conciergerie and Sainte-Chapelle The royal palace the Revolution turned into a prison. Exterior only. Place Dauphine A quiet seventeenth-century square on the island. A café, a wine merchant, an antique dealer. The Pont Neuf and the Seine Wide views across the quays and the equestrian statue of Henri IV. The Louvre The courtyard, the caryatids, the history. No museum entry — a separate Louvre tour can be added. The Palais-Royal A garden in bloom, antique dealers and old cafés beneath the colonnade. The Covered Passages The most elegant of Paris's historic galleries — booksellers, cafés, a chocolatier. The Opéra Garnier The most expensive building in Paris. The final stop. Optional: a river boat along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower.