Located in the center of "old" Paris, Notre Dame is flanked by two branches of the Seine River. Like many Gothic cathedrals, it is named for the Virgin Mary.

Views of the apse and flying buttresses

The nave buttresses and water spouts

The front facade, executed somewhat later than the nave, depicts the Last Judgment in the central portal--a common medieval subject, stories in the life of Mary in the north portal tympanum, and those in the life of her mother Anne in the south portal tympanum.