Hôtel-Dieu, Paris

The current Hôtel-Dieu sits directly across from Notre-Dame, identifiable by its sprawling, nineteenth-century stone facade and rows of uniform, rectangular windows. Established in the seventh century, this is the oldest hospital in Paris. In the medieval era, patients often shared beds, with as many as five people squeezed into a single mattress. The original buildings burned down several times, leading to the construction of the present structure in the eighteen sixties to provide better light and ventilation for the sick.