Anyone who has been in Paris for more than a few days can’t help but notice the dichotomy of modernity and historical heritage, evident at every turn. For example, you access an ultra-modern Fondation Louis Vuitton building designed by Frank Gehry by walking past the old fence ironwork of the Jardin d’Acclimatation built in the mid-19th century. The venerated 17th-century Louvre buildings have I.I. Pei’s glass pyramid amid the central courtyard. And in the middle of this old-new city of Paris, a few steps from phone accessory stores and overlooking rows of electric cars, sits its grandest structure of all—the cathedral of Notre-Dame.