Notre Dame de Paris (French for quot;Our Lady of Parisquot;), also known as Notre Dame Cathedral or simply Notre Dame, is an historic Roman Catholic Marian cathedral in Paris. It is widely considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known churches in the world ever builtbr/br/Paris is the capital and largest city of France, situated on the river Seine. Paris was the largest city in the Western world for about 1,000 years, prior to the 19th century, and the largest in the entire world between the 16th and 19th centuries. Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centres, and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities.