The Roman remains beneath the Cathedral of Notre Dame

Few people walking on the square in front of Notre Dame in Paris are aware that right beneath their feet lie the ancient remains of the city – in Europe’s biggest archaeological crypt. Discover the Roman remains beneath the Cathedral of Notre Dame.

From Lutetia to Paris

The entrance is down a discreet staircase in the northwest corner of the square. You might think it leads to the car park! Look for a pillar with “Crypte du Parvis” engraved on it. The cool air, dim light and quiet ambiance are a strong contrast to the generally busy square that lures tourists to witness one of the most beautiful churches ever built.

But in this museum, you’re unlikely to have to jostle. There were just 125,000 visitors in 2022, an average of around 400 a day, possibly because it’s confusingly called the “Crypte”, which one generally associates with a stone chamber under a church which contains religious relics. The museum’s official name is the Crypte archéologique de l’île de la Cité… perhaps it would draw more visitors if it were just simply called the “Musée archéologique de Paris”!

The Roman remains beneath the Cathedral of Notre Dame

The ancient vestiges, hidden for centuries under the square, were discovered by accident in 1964 during excavations during works to build an underground carpark. When it became clear that these archaeological remains from the Romans to the 19^th century provided a unique timeline to understanding the city’s urban and archaeological development, plans for the carpark were modified and archaeological excavation continued for a further eight years.

Once you’ve paid your entrance fee and your eyes have adjusted to the quiet light, you’ll walk along raised pathways, looking down on 2,000 years of history. Tactile, animated displays, in French and English, help visitors understand what it is they’re looking at.

Right in the centre are the remains of the bath house where inhabitants of the Gallo-Roman town of Lutetia, as Paris was known then (meaning ‘place near a swamp’), could come and relax, catch up on the latest news and exchange gossip.

Today’s visitors can follow the same path the bathers would have taken. You can see the remains of the changing room with its bench still intact. Somebody lost some of their coins in this changing room. As coins were only used for about 20 years, archaeologists assume that this money, found between two paving stones in 2012, gives an accurate indication of when these baths were last used: at the end of 4AD or in early 5AD.

The baths had underfloor heating (who thought this was a modern invention?) and you can see the small columns of stones that held the floor up so the heat could spread underneath. You go through the cold room, the hot room, the sauna, then back through the cold room.

The oldest vestiges visible are those of the city’s very first port, built at the beginning of 1AD just after the Romans colonised the Gaullish settlement. Obviously the Romans wanted to be able to trade from here with the rest of their empire so the first thing to do was to build a port. As is very well explained, the Seine river was untamed back then, so it was spread much wider than today.

Medieval Remains in Paris

Right above the remains of the quay are those of the rampart built along the same axis three centuries later between 308 and 360 AD. The rampart went around the Île de la Cité with a main road that ran north-south. The rampart was built using large stones that have segments of inscriptions on them, so it’s believed that they were taken from official monuments of Lutetia or from seating in the theatre where important families had permanently reserved seats with their names on. You can see remains of the theatre, the Arènes de Lutèce, which had a seating capacity of 15,944, and is the only other Roman vestige visible in Paris, on the rue Monge in the 5^th arrondissement.

From the Medieval period there are the walls of 14^th and 15^th century cellars of the homes built along the rue Neuve Notre Dame, and the basement of the former chapel of the Hôtel-Dieu hospital. Don’t look for this 76m long street. It disappeared in 1874 but when you emerge from this museum, have a look at the markings on the square. They will show you where this street used to be.

The 18^th century is represented by the foundations of the Foundling Hospital, the Hospice des Enfants-Trouvés, built in 1746 on the rue Neuve Notre Dame and demolished in 1874 to widen the square in front of the cathedral. The 19^th century is represented, rather unglamorously, by traces of sewers.

The museum is open Tuesdays-Sundays, as well as some major public holidays. For more details check out the website: crypte.paris.fr

Christine McKenzie is a Franco-British journalist who writes in both English and French. Her stories have been published in anglophone and francophone media. Married to a Frenchman and mother of four, she settled 30 years ago near Fontainebleau.