One of the first Gothic cathedrals and one of the finest examples of Gothic architecture in the world, Notre-Dame de Paris (“Our Lady of Paris” in French), located on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France, is one of the most visited sites in the world. Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports) to sustain the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style), which grew ever higher.