Arc De Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe, Paris

Napoleon commissioned the Arc de Triomphe in 1806, following his victory at Austerlitz, to honour the soldiers of France. He never saw it finished – he died in 1821, and the arch wasn’t completed until 1836 under King Louis-Philippe. That gap of 30 years in the construction is not just a historical footnote: it means the monument that was meant to celebrate Napoleon’s empire was completed by the restored monarchy. The arch outlasted the political project it was built for by some margin.

The structure is the world’s largest triumphal arch at 50 metres tall and 45 metres wide. It sits at the centre of Place Charles-de-Gaulle (also called Place de l’Étoile for the 12 avenues radiating from it like points on a star). The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies at its base, with an eternal flame that has burned continuously since 1923. The daily re-lighting ceremony at 18:30 is brief and worth seeing if you are there at that time.

Visiting

The rooftop terrace (284 steps, or a lift partway) costs around €13 for adults. The view is one of the better elevated views of Paris available without paying Eiffel Tower prices: you look down the full length of the Champs-Élysées toward the Louvre on one side, and across the La Défense business district on the other. Book tickets online at monuments-nationaux.fr to avoid the queue at the base.

Do not try to walk to the arch from the Champs-Élysées pavement – the traffic roundabout is one of the most aggressive in Europe and there are no pedestrian crossings. Use the underground pedestrian tunnel on the north side of the Champs-Élysées.

The Building Itself

The arch’s sculptural programme is significant. The large reliefs on the four faces include “La Marseillaise” by François Rude on the east side – often called the finest piece of public sculpture in France, depicting the departure of volunteers for the wars of 1792 with considerable energy and barely contained fury. The contrast with the quieter, more formal reliefs on the other faces is pronounced.

The attic frieze running above the arch records the names of 660 battles and 128 French generals. Those whose names are underlined died in battle.

Around the Arc

The Champs-Élysées runs east from the arch for about 2km to Place de la Concorde. The avenue is simultaneously Paris’s most famous street and one of its least interesting for any purpose other than spectacle – most of the interesting shopping, eating, and wandering is elsewhere in the city. The avenue is genuinely impressive from the top of the arch, which is the best way to appreciate it.

The Musée d’Orsay (Impressionist collection), the Palais de Tokyo (contemporary art), and the Musée du Quai Branly (world cultures), all within 20 minutes’ walk of the arch, are better uses of time than extended Champs-Élysées browsing. The area around Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, north of the arch, has better food options at less tourist-facing prices than the Champs-Élysées itself.