Bronze Star – Point Zéro des Routes de France
The Bronze Star is a small but symbolic monument.
Also known as the Point Zéro des Routes de France – Zero Point of French Roads, it is set into the ground in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral, near the entrance, and is easy overlook if you don’t know what to look for.
This bronze medallion, shaped like a compass rose and set within a circular stone slab, marks the official starting point for calculating distances between Paris and all other cities in France.
From here, the fourteen major national highways radiate outwards, like the spokes of a wheel.
The stone circle surrounding the medallion is divided into four sections, each bearing the inscription in capital letters:
POINT – ZÉRO – OF THE ROADS – OF FRANCE (Starting point of French roads)
On the site of the medieval gallows
The idea of a “zero point,” a landmark from which all roads in France would begin, dates back to 1769, when Louis XV decreed that all royal roads should originate from the square in front of Notre-Dame Cathedral. The king chose this location on the Ile de la Cité for its central position and historical symbolism.
The cathedral was indeed both the spiritual and historical heart of Paris and a place of judgment and punishment. In the Middle Ages, its square housed the Échelle de Justice (Ladder of Justice), a grim structure serving as both a gallows and a pillory for the Archdiocese of Paris, where those condemned were brought in public to be judged. Dressed simply, most often in a simple shirt, they knelt before the gallows, a candle in hand, a wooden board inscribed with their crimes hanging from their chest. There, under the watchful gaze of the crowd, they confessed their misdeeds and begged for forgiveness, seeking mercy before judgment was pronounced. The gallows also served as a pillory; those condemned to death, with a rope around their necks, awaited the final verdict. The gallows and pillory were eventually replaced by a wooden post in 1767, and then by a simple stone stele in 1786.
The birth of the Bronze Star
The iconic Bronze Star was installed in 1924. However, between 1966 and 1972, it was temporarily removed during the construction of an underground parking garage, a project that was never completed. The initial excavations unearthed Gallo-Roman and medieval architectural remains, now displayed in the Crypte Archéologique du Parvis Notre-Dame – Archaeological Crypt of the Île de la Cité, an on-site museum that opened to the public in 1980.
The Bronze Star was removed again during restoration work following the fire that destroyed Notre-Dame in 2019. On July 1, 2025, a new medallion, identical to the original, was replaced in the historic 1924 location to celebrate the completion of the cathedral forecourt’s renovation. The original, a century-old and too worn to be reinstalled, will soon join the collections of the Carnavalet Museum, a museum dedicated to the history of Paris.
You won’t be surprised to learn that, according to Parisian tradition, anyone who stands on the Bronze Star – Point Zero – will one day return to Paris. Thus, you know what to do next time you are in Paris!
Directions: 4th District
Metro Station: Cité on Line 4
Coordinates: Lat 48.853414 – Long 2.348875
