KIIS Paris-Munich

01/06/2026

20/05/2026

Gothic architecture did not start at Notre-Dame. It started at a basilica 6 miles north that most visitors to Paris have never set foot in.

The Basilique Saint-Denis started in 1135. Notre-Dame de Paris did not break ground until 1163. Every element that defines the Gothic style — the ribbed vault, the pointed arch, the flying buttress, the walls of stained glass flooding the interior with light — appeared first at Saint-Denis, assembled together for the first time by a visionary abbot named Suger. Notre-Dame studied the model and built on it.

The royal connection runs even deeper. For nearly a thousand years, the kings of France chose Saint-Denis as their burial place. Forty-three kings and thirty-two queens are interred there, from the Merovingian dynasty through to Louis XVIII in 1824. Notre-Dame hosted coronations and ceremonies. Saint-Denis held the bodies.

During the French Revolution, that made it a target. Royal tombs were smashed. Remains were dumped in common graves. In 1817, Louis XVIII ordered the bones recovered and placed in a royal ossuary within the crypt. The names of the kings and queens are engraved on black marble slabs, though the remains could not be individually identified.

The original north spire reached 282 feet (86 meters) before it was demolished in the 19th century after storm damage. A reconstruction project, three decades in the making, began in 2022. The new spire is expected to be completed around 2028.

Today, approximately 140,000 people visit Saint-Denis each year. Notre-Dame draws 14 million. The basilica that taught Notre-Dame everything it knows sits mostly empty on a Tuesday afternoon.

12/05/2026

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09/05/2026

Most people who visit Sacré-Coeur (Sacred Heart Basilica) in Montmartre never make it past the main floor.

Below it is a full second church.

The crypt follows the exact same floor plan as the basilica above it. It has a central chapel called the Chapelle de la Pietà (Chapel of the Pietà), built around a large marble statue of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the cross, sculpted by Jules Coutain in 1895. Fourteen side chapels ring the space, each one corresponding to a chapel directly above it.

What the crypt also holds is harder to explain. A relic kept there is believed by the faithful to be the physical Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. A second relic contains the heart of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, the 17th-century French nun whose visions of Jesus were the direct inspiration for building the basilica in the first place. Without her, Sacré-Coeur may never have been built.

The tombs of Cardinals Guibert and Richard, two of the men most responsible for pushing the construction through the French government in the 1870s, are also down there.

At the consecration ceremony in 1919, while Cardinal Amette blessed the main altar upstairs, 15 bishops simultaneously consecrated the 15 altars in the crypt below.

The crypt is currently closed to visitors, but has historically been open to the public for a small entry fee.

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30/04/2026

The Arc de Triomphe sits on what is officially the Place Charles de Gaulle, a roundabout where 12 avenues converge with no painted lane markings and no crosswalks in sight.
Cars do not yield to pedestrians here. In fact, at this intersection, cars entering the roundabout have the right of way over cars already on it — the opposite of how roundabouts work almost everywhere else. Insurers have a standing agreement: if there is a collision anywhere on this circle, both parties split the cost 50/50, no questions asked.
The only way to reach the monument on foot is the underground pedestrian tunnel, whose entrance is on the Champs-Elysees side of the roundabout. No metro ticket needed. It takes maybe 90 seconds to walk.
The tunnel deposits you directly at the base of the arch, where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (the grave of an unidentified French soldier killed in World War I) has rested since 1921. The eternal flame above it is rekindled every evening at 6:30 pm.

14/03/2026

A new exhibition exploring the legend of the unicorn just opened at the Musée de Cluny — the National Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris.

Titled “Unicorns!”, the exhibition runs from March 10 to July 12, 2026, and brings together nearly 100 artworks and historical objects from major museums around the world.

The show examines how the mythical creature has appeared in art, religion, and folklore for centuries, from ancient civilizations to contemporary interpretations.

Among the highlights are works on loan from institutions such as the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Prado Museum in Madrid, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

The exhibition also connects closely with one of the museum’s most famous treasures: the “Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries, a series of six medieval tapestries dating from the early 16th century.

These masterpieces are among the most celebrated works of medieval art and are permanently displayed at the Cluny Museum. Each tapestry represents one of the five senses — sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch — along with a sixth mysterious scene titled “À mon seul désir.”

The exhibition uses these iconic works as a starting point to explore the long history of the unicorn myth, which has appeared in ancient legends, medieval bestiaries, religious symbolism, and later works of art.

For centuries, people believed unicorn horns had healing powers and could neutralize poison. Many royal collections even displayed objects carved from what was believed to be unicorn horn — which scientists later identified as narwhal tusks.

By bringing together artworks, historical objects, and modern interpretations, the exhibition looks at how the unicorn has remained a powerful symbol in human imagination for thousands of years.

06/03/2026

The Paris Catacombs are reopening this spring after a 5.5 M€ restoration, making it the best time in years to visit this underground labyrinth.

If you are heading to France soon, you can finally book your spot to see the resting place of over 6M Parisians. This site is just a small portion of a 300 km network of old limestone quarries that were transformed into an ossuary starting in 1785.

The city just finished a major upgrade, a 5-month project to fix humidity issues and install a new immersive audio tour.

The walk takes you 20 meters underground, deeper than the metro, to see walls of bones meticulously stacked into patterns. You will notice that the air is a constant 14°C regardless of the heat above ground - this is which is why the new ventilation system was such a priority for preserving the site.

Demand is expected to be incredibly high for these first few months back, so you must book your 31€ tickets online ahead of time.

The route involves 131 steps down and 112 steps back up, so make sure you are ready for a bit of a workout!

It is one of the most hauntingly astonishing spots in the city, definitely worth adding to your spring itinerary while the new lighting and displays are fresh 🤩

18/02/2026

This tomb is located in Montparnasse Cemetery, one of the four main historic cemeteries of Paris. It opened in 1824, twenty years after Père Lachaise, when the city needed more burial space outside the crowded center.

Montparnasse became especially important in the 19th and early 20th centuries, when the surrounding neighborhood was home to writers, artists, and intellectuals. The cemetery reflects that atmosphere. Many tombs here are bold, dramatic, and highly artistic.

This monument is often considered one of the most beautiful in the cemetery because it combines sculpture, architecture, and symbolism in one composition. In that era, wealthy families invested heavily in funerary art. A tomb was not just a grave; it was a statement about memory, faith, and social status.

15/02/2026

This is the Bir-Hakeim Bridge, one of the most recognizable bridges in Paris. It connects the 15th and 16th arrondissements and crosses the Seine right next to the small island called Île aux Cygnes.

The bridge we see today was built between 1903 and 1905. At that time, Paris was expanding fast, and the city needed a way for the new metro to cross the river. Instead of hiding the train underground, engineers designed an elevated structure. That’s why Metro Line 6 runs across the top of the bridge, above cars and pedestrians.

The bridge was first called Pont de Passy. In 1948, after World War II, it was renamed Bir-Hakeim in honor of a battle fought in 1942 in Libya, where Free French forces resisted German troops. The new name turned the bridge into a quiet memorial as well as a transport link.

It is also famous for its double-level design. The upper level carries the metro, while the lower level allows cars and pedestrians to cross. The long metal gallery in the center was carefully designed to be both strong and elegant, showing the industrial style of the early 20th century.

03/02/2026

To rebuild the medieval roof structure and the spire of Notre Dame exactly as they were, Paris made a bold choice: do it the old way. That meant wood, not steel. And not just any wood. More than 1,000 oak trees were carefully selected from forests all across the country. Many of them were over 150 years old, chosen for their size, strength, and straightness.

In the Middle Ages, Notre-Dame’s roof was nicknamed “the forest” because it took an enormous number of trees to build it. The reconstruction follows that same idea. Each oak tree was cut at the right season, then left to dry naturally for many months. Nothing was rushed. This was about precision, not speed.

The beams you see here are shaped and assembled using traditional carpentry techniques, very close to those used centuries ago. Skilled craftsmen worked with hand tools, joints, and wooden pegs, fitting each piece together like a giant puzzle. No shortcuts. No modern redesign.

This wooden framework will once again support the roof and the famous spire, just as it did for hundreds of years. It is invisible from the street, but without it, the cathedral could not stand.

What makes this project special is not only the scale, but the choice behind it. Instead of reinventing Notre-Dame, France chose to respect its history, its materials, and the knowledge passed down through generations.

This structure is proof that rebuilding Notre-Dame was never just about fixing damage.
It was about continuing a story that began in the Middle Ages.