About This Location
Find the fountain tucked into the small garden behind Notre-Dame. After the crowds at the cathedral front, this spot often feels like a secret - greener, quieter, and close enough to hear the Seine if the city goes still for a moment. Look at the fountain’s shape. It is tall and slim, built in a neo-Gothic style to match the cathedral nearby, and it rises like a miniature spire from the middle of the lawn. It was created in 1845, designed by architect Alphonse Vigoureux, with sculpture by Louis-Parfait Merlieux. Now move closer and notice the triangle plan. At each corner stands an archangel, each one poised above a small pedestal where water spills into the basin. Above them, three columns lift your gaze to the center - a Virgin and Child sheltered within the structure, like the calm heart of the whole composition. This fountain also carries older Paris under its feet. It stands roughly where a street once ran, and the garden itself was laid out in the 1840s as the city reshaped the area behind the cathedral. It is a reminder that even “medieval Paris” is often sitting on 19th-century urban changes. Before leaving, turn slightly so the fountain sits in the foreground and Notre-Dame’s flying buttresses fill the background. The contrast is perfect: a small, delicate monument meant for reflection, and behind it, the cathedral’s stone engineering holding centuries of weight.