The Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe Paris
The Champs Elysees streches over two kilometres from the Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. Prestigious and luxurious quartier, the Champs Elysees and its environs house luxury boutiques, embassies and business offices. Besides being popular, the area is also a place, hosting such events as the Bastille Day parade, the Tour de France finish and New Year's eve celebrations. Champs Elysees during the day with their heavy car traffic and continuous pedestrian animation. People from all over the world are going to the theater, shopping, going to a restaurant or just walking and looking around : Paris Lido cabaretor trying to get past the bouncers at Queen, invest it with a certain glitzy charm. For a glimpse of a more elegant world, take a look at the mansions at the Rond-Point and wander down Avenue Montaigne with its Haute Couture houses including Chanel , Lancel, Vuitton, Christian Dior, Guy Laroche, Thierry Mugler and Ungaro. The lower half of the avenue toward the place de la Concorde has a different character, with gardens and smart restaurants running off either side. Between the Champs Elysees and elegant rue du Faubourg Saint Honore lie the vast gardens of the Palace of the French President. On the other side of the Avenue are the Paris Petit Palais and glass-domed Paris Grand Palais, used for major art exhibitions, and the adjoining science museum, the Palais de la Decouverte. The Arc de Triomphe in Paris was commissioned in 1806 by Napoleon as a tribute to his own military achievements. The Arc de Triomphe is built on the model of ancient Triumphal Arches, but it stands alone because of its monumental size: 50 meters tall and 45 meters wide (164 by 148 feet). The four magnificent high reliefs are crowned by Rude's masterpiece, "The Departure of the Volunteers in 1792" The monument surmounts the hill of Chaillot at the center of a star-shaped configuration of 12 radiating avenues. It is the climax of a vista seen the length of the Champs Elysees from the smaller Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in the Tuileries gardens, and from the Obelisque de Luxor in the place de la Concorde. Since 1920, the tomb of France's Unknown Soldier has been sheltered underneath the arch. Its eternal flame commemorates the dead of the two world wars. Here, on every Armistice Day (November 11), the President of the Republic lays a ceremonial wreath. On July 14, the French National Day (also known as Bastille Day), a military parade starts at the arch and proceeds down the Champs Elysees. Before taking the elevator to the top of the Arc to experience the amazing city view, stand by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, added at the Arch's base in 1920. An eternal flame burns here to commemorate fallen soldiers. As visitors stand silent in thought, cars zip madly around the road circling the Arc. Fortunately, there is an underground passage for pedestrians to pass beneath the busy road. To cross it would truly be a life-threatening endeavor!
Address
Rond Point Place Charles de Gaulle
How to get there ?
Metro 1,2 or 6 : Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile
RER A : Charles-de-Gaulle-Étoile