Recommended Tours | Day Trips & Sightseeing Tours in Paris

Paris Walking Tour by River Shuttle: Louvre Museum, Lunch at the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame Cathedral - When you dream of Paris... do you imagine the Eiffel Tower, gastronomic delights, the Louvre's artistic treasures and the legendary Notre-Dame Cathedral? If so, this tour combines them all, including a cruise on the Seine and lunch in a restaurant located at the Eiffel Tower.

Monet's Garden at Giverny and American Art Museum Afternoon Tour by Minivan - Art lovers rejoice! Visit Monet's house in Giverny and discover the inspiration behind much of his work. The tour also includes the American Art Museum, there is so much here to admire, you'll be wide eyed with wonder. Avoid disappointment by booking today!This tour is seasonal and operates from April to October only.

Auvers sur Oise, Giverny and American Museum of Art by Minivan - Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet on a full-day small group tour from Paris by minivan. You'll take a guided tour of Auvers sur Oise, the village where Vincent van Gogh spent his last 100 days; travel to Giverny to see Monet's house and gardens; and tour the American Museum of Art in Giverny. You'll be picked up and dropped off at your centrally located Paris hotel by air-conditioned minivan, which holds a maximum of only eight passengers and ensures you’ll receive individual attention from your expert tour guide.This tour is seasonal and operates from April to October only.Special Offer - Save 15% off the regular retail price for travel between April 30 and July 30, 2008 - BOOK NOW!

The Religious Aspect Notre-Dame

Notre-Dame Catholic cathedral in Paris dates back to the 13th century and are one of the masterpieces of Gothic art in Western Europe. The combination of stain glasses and the huge interior are really stunning which arouses artistic experiences of mystical dimension. Located on the Cité island and surrounded by the Seine river, Notre-Dame is a flagship in the Parisian landscape and provides a magnificent view of the city from the top of its towers.

Notre-Dame was preceded by a Gallo-Roman temple to Jupiter, a Christian basilica, and a Romanesque church. Its in Paris began in 1163 during the reign of Louis VII. Pope Alexander III laid the foundation stone. Construction was completed approximately 200 years later in about 1345.

Notre-Dame has had an action-packed history over the centuries. Crusaders prayed here before leaving on their holy wars and polyphonic music developed in the cahtedral. Notre-Dame was plundered during the French revolution, as were a number of other cathedrals throughout France. Many of the cathedral's other treasures were either destroyed or plundered only the great bells avoided being melted down. Revolutionaries devoted the cathedral first to the cult of Reason, and subsequently to the cult of the Supreme Being. The church interior was used as a warehouse for the storage of food.

Notre-Dame has the distinction of being the cathedral where Napoléon, wishing to emphasize the primacy of the state over the church, crowned himself emperor, and then crowned Joséphine, his Martinique-born wife, as his empress. During the 19th century, writer Victor Hugo and artists such as Ingres brought awareness to the dangerous state of disrepair into which the Cathedral had fallen, consequently raising a new awareness of its artistic value. Whereas 18th-century neoclassicists had virtually ignored the creations of the Middle Ages - and had even replaced the stained glass at Notre-Dam with normal glass - the 19th-century romantics saw that distant period with new eyes and greater appreciation.

Besides bringing new life to the rose windows and the statues, Viollet-le-Duc designed Nore-Dame's spire, a new feature of the building, and the sacristy. Also in the 19th century, Baron Haussmann evicted those Parisians whose houses cluttered the Cathedral's vicinity. During the Commune of 1871, the Cathedral was nearly burned by the Communards. Whatever happened, Notre-Dame survived the Commune essentially unscathed.

Yet it is the art of Notre-Dane, rather than its history, that still awes. The west front includes 28 statues representing the monarchs of Judea and Israel. The three portals illustrate, from left to right, the Last Judgment; the Madonna and Child; St. Anne, the Virgin's mother; and Mary's youth until the birth of Jesus. The interior, with its slender, graceful columns, is imposing - there is room for as many as 6,000 worshipers. The three rose windows to the west, north, and south - are masterful, their colors a glory to behold on a sunny day.

To have looked at the upper parts of the church, the river, and much of Paris, climbs the 387 steps to the top of one of the towers. The south tower holds Norte-Dame's 13-ton bell, which is rung on special occasions.

About the Author: Anil Gupta recommends that you visit paris hotels for more information.

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