The Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II is a square in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. Located on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité, the square is bordered by the Hôtel-Dieu hospital to the north, Notre-Dame cathedral to the east, the Seine to the south, and the Prefecture of Police headquarters to the west. The square contains France's point zéro marker, making it the very center of Paris for the purpose of measuring travel distance. Other points of interest include the Archaeological Crypt of the Île de la Cité and Charlemagne et ses Leudes, an equestrian statue of Charlemagne.
Name
Historically, the square has been called the Place du Parvis Notre-Dame, or shortened to the Place du Parvis or the Parvis Notre-Dame. This is due to its historic function as the parvis of Notre-Dame de Paris. After the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, it was proposed to rename the square to Place Jean-Paul II. The name was intended to memorialize the late pope's visit to the square in 1980, as well as his subsequent visit to Notre-Dame in 1997 for World Youth Day. The proposal was controversial, however, eventually resulting in the square's current compound name in 2006.
History
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.




![Parvis Notre-Dame – Place Jean-Paul II: The parvis from Notre-Dame's south tower in 2008. The outline of Saint-Etienne is marked with small light-gray cobblestones in the lower part of the image. The higher contrast white stones mark the Rue Neuve-Notre-Dame [fr] (center), the church of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Ardents (upper right), and the medieval parvis (lower right) which includes the point zéro.](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Parvis_Notre-Dame.jpg/500px-Parvis_Notre-Dame.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=parser&utm_content=thumbnail)

