Zero Kilometer on Ile de la Cite

When we say that the ile is the heart of the city, of Paris and of France we are talking not just emotionally but factually as well. For it is in the Place Jean-Paul II actually in front of Notre Dam Cathedral itself, that the marker is made as the center of measurement of all of France.

If you see listed in a book that for example London is 342.8km from Paris you may be wondering exactly "where in Paris"? Well the answer is waiting for you here on the Ile de la Cite because the "zero kilometer" position is marked by a small stone circle in the square.

As you stand before the cathedral you will doubtless see it, perhaps not directly, but because of the crowd of happy visitors who would like to stand here for their photograph!  Go on, join them, it is great to be in the center of things!