Nearly a century ago, the French Catholic poet Charles Péguy imagined what God might think of Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral.

“God says: I have seen ... the churches which are my own houses,” he wrote. “And Paris and Rheims and Rouen and the cathedrals which are my own palaces and my own castles. So beautiful that I shall keep them in heaven.”

While the cathedral may be the heart of Catholic Paris, there are other churches and basilicas to attract the Catholic traveler. And there's probably no better time to visit this great city than spring — now less than two weeks away.

Notre Dame isn't all there is to see, but it is an excellent starting point. The cathedral stands at the center of L'île de la Cité, one of the two islands in the middle of the Seine River, from which Paris eventually expanded. Today's Notre Dame, the cathedral-church of Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, dates from 1163. The Gothic landmark, one of France's oldest medieval cathedrals, stands on a spot previously occupied by a Christian basilica and, earlier, a Roman temple. The cathedral itself took more than a century to build. Desecrated during the French Revolution (the cathedral was dedicated to Robespierre's cult of “the Goddess of Reason” while a prostitute was placed on the main altar) Notre Dame was reconsecrated in 1802.

Although the cathedral attracts its share of gawking tourists (there's always a line to scale the tower and roof), Notre Dame also retains the prayerful air of a true place of worship. While crowds might roam the nave in the afternoon, visitation is limited during services. A priest is usually available for “consultations.” There's a certain frisson in attending Sunday Mass in so historic a church, a sanctified space in which the powerful and the poor have prayed for nearly a millennium. Daily Vespers are also recited. The reserved Blessed Sacrament in a chapel off the ambulatory behind the main altar is a welcome place of refuge in busy Paris. On the Sundays of Lent this year, recollections are delivered by a bishop from each of the seven continents.

From its intricately sculpted portals, to the 30-foot rose windows to the exquisite, carved choir surrounding the main altar, Notre Dame is a testament to how Christianity has inspired art. The cathedral treasury, which holds many of Notre Dame's precious books and liturgical instruments, should not be missed.

Walk and Pray

Crossing the square from Notre Dame brings one to the Palais de Justice, which houses a Gothic masterpiece: La Sainte-Chapelle. Built by French King St. Louis in the 13th century to house the relic of Christ's crown of thorns, La Sainte-Chapelle is an outstanding architectural achievement. Its “walls” are almost completely made of 15 50-foot-high panes of stained glass. Almost 1,150 individual scenes from the Old and New Testaments are depicted. Like Notre Dame, you cannot visit La Sainte-Chapelle without appreciating just how powerfully Church life has shaped human culture.

Off the Rue de Rivoli side of the Louvre is the Church of St. Roch, a pretty, if somewhat neglected, Baroque church.

Take a walk along the other side of the Louvre, across the Pont des Arts and down Rue Bonaparte and you'll come to the Church of St. Germain-des-Prés. It's Paris' oldest church, built in the 11th century in a distinct Romanesque style.

Across Paris, on its northern side, rises the Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Sacré-Cœur). Its snow-white domes and modified Byzantine style crowns the hill of Montmartre. Built in fulfillment of a 19th-century national vow, Sacré-Cœur was consecrated in 1919. Beautiful mosaics, lovingly restored, illuminate the interior. Regularly a pilgrimage church, it hosts frequent Masses. The trek up the hill can be a challenge, but there's a railcar available for the price of a subway ticket.

Paris is a walkable city. Its great churches and most of its secular attractions (like L'Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower) are relatively centrally located. Even the secular attractions cannot evade France's religious past. The walls of the Pantheon, for example, the burial place of France's secular heroes, are still adorned with paintings of the life of St. Geneviève.

For those who prefer other transportation, the Metro is cheap and efficient (multi-day tickets, affording travel on all lines, are worth it). Near Notre Dame, at least in the summer months, is one of the loading points for Seine River cruises, generally one-hour tours that show you the highlights of Paris. Parisian cuisine is unparalleled and, as France adopts the devalued Euro, prices are even somewhat reasonable, at least on a European scale.

Péguy's God is so moved by the beauty of France's churches that he promises “to keep them in Heaven.” If you know where to look in Paris, you won't wonder why.

John M. Grondelski lives in Warsaw, Poland.