Unspecified/General

Standing at the centre of the great star of avenues from which it takes its setting, the Arc de Triomphe is one of the defining monuments of Paris, raised to honour those who fought and died for France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Napoleon ordered its construction in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz, but the work dragged on through changes of regime and the arch was not completed until 1836, long after his fall. Designed by Jean-Francois-Therese Chalgrin in a severe neoclassical style, it rises some fifty metres above the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de l'Etoile, where twelve avenues meet, among them the Champs-Elysees. Its faces are carved with monumental sculptural groups, the most famous being Francois Rude's Departure of the Volunteers, known as La Marseillaise, while the inner walls bear the names of hundreds of generals and battles. Beneath the vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the First World War, where an eternal flame is rekindled every evening in a ceremony that has continued without interruption since 1923. The arch has been the stage for some of the nation's most charged moments, from victory parades to the return of Napoleon's remains and the liberation of the city in 1944. Visitors can climb the spiral stair to a rooftop terrace, from which the radiating avenues and the sweep from the Louvre to La Defense are laid out below, with the Eiffel Tower close at hand. Reached by an underground passage rather than by crossing the busy traffic, it draws people for the views, the sculpture and the sense of standing at the symbolic heart of the country. As a memorial, a viewpoint and a masterpiece of imperial architecture, it remains essential to any visit to the city. Tickets for the rooftop are bought on site or online, and the climb of around three hundred steps is rewarded with one of the finest views in the city, particularly at dusk. The evening relighting of the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, held daily, is a moving ceremony open to the public, and arriving in good time allows visitors to witness this quiet tribute beneath the great vault.

Type: Tourist Attraction

Address: Place Charles de Gaulle, Paris, France

Telephone: +33 1 55377377

Website: https://www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr

Opening Date: 29/07/1836