Notre Dame de Paris

Notre Dame de Paris (French for "Our Lady of Paris", meaning the church in Paris dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus), often known simply as Notre Dame in English, is a gothic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in Paris, France, with its main entrance to the west. While a major tourist destination, it is still used as a Roman Catholic cathedral (archbishopric of Paris). Notre Dame de Paris is widely considered the finest example of French gothic architecture.

Miscellaneous trivia

• In 1905, the law of separation of Church and State was passed; as all cathedrals built by the Kingdom of France, Notre-Dame remains state property, but its use is granted to the Roman Catholic Church.
• France's "kilometre zero", the reference point for distances along the highways starting in Paris, is situated in the square in front of the cathedral.