Palais de la Cité

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Aerial view of the marvellous island and its ancient buildings.

Traveling and visiting new places is fun for most people. There is a lot of thrill in visiting places that have a story to tell about history, a different culture or country. Apart from the beauty of such tourist sites, another reason for this could be the fascination with unfamiliar things. This is why it is a good idea to better understand the significance of a place before visiting it. Palais de la Cité is one such place in Paris. It is a within the island Île de la Cité, which is an island on the river Seine. This palace was a major part of the French kingdom before the revolution and was where the kings resided.

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Some of the buildings survived the French revolution and have been reconstructed or restored. Some buildings like Sainte-Chapelle and Conciergerie are in good condition today and some other parts of the palace also make a beautiful site. You can enjoy a cruise around the island while imagining mideval people walking around, doing tasks that have been made simpler today by gadgets.

You can also enter Saint Chapelle, the house of justice and la conciergerie and familiarize yourself with the life before and during the French revolution. There are couple of other things like a huge clock as you enter the island via Pont Neuf. You can read in detail about two of the best preserved buildings of the Palais by clicking on their links here - La Conciergerie and Saint Chapelle.

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Sainte Chapelle church is one of the most beautiful and wel preserved parts of the ancient Palace.

If there is any place in Paris to take a look at the history of France, it is Palais de la Cité. The French revolution occured in the 18th century, but most sites in this place are from the 14th century or earlier.

A tour around the island can also be taken on cruise. These small cruise are reasonably priced and you can spend one good hour while a guide provides you with historical information about the various sites as you pass by them.

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The famous Notre-Dame church is also on the island of Ile de la Cite.

The Palace is closely related to the incidents that are the reason why the French National Day (also known as the Bastille Day" is celebrated in the contemporary days. In French, it is known as "La Fête Nationale Française". It is celebrated every year on the 14th of July.

Therefore, even though possibly "Palais de la Cité" is not a householg name like the Eiffel Tower or the Louvre, as an informed traveller you must not miss the opportunity to visit and know the place where the ancient France dwelled and the beginning of the modern France occured.