Arc de Triomphe, Paris

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well go ahead make your trip an adventure, drive a car on the Champs Elysées and go around the Arc de Triomphe. It has 12 avenues radiating from it, and its never an accident in 9.5 .. yrs living here that I have seen or heard.
I drive by it everytime in the city, which is often. The thrill is marvelous, and the sights upon your senses is spectacular.

See the link for more official info on it and take a look at the photo.

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From the Arc de Triomphe, the Avenue de la Grande Armée leads off roughly to the west-northwest towards La Defense. This avenue, which was named after Napoléon’s large army, is practically the continuation of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées.

Avenue Carnot is a shorter avenue which goes off to the northwest. There have been several prominent people named Carnot, such as the physicist and military engineer Nicolas Léonard Sadi Carnot (1796-1832) and his nephew Marie François Sadi Carnot (1837-1894), who was president of France from 1887 until his assassination in 1894.

Avenue Mac-Mahon goes off in a more northerly direction. It was named after Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Duc de Magenta, a French general (of Irish ancestry) who served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1875 and as the first president of the Third Republic from 1875 to 1879.

Avenue de Wagram leads off more or less to the northeast. It was named after a battle that took place in Austria in 1809 and was of course a French victory, otherwise they wouldn’t have named the avenue after it. (You may have noticed that in Paris there is no street, avenue, square or boulevard named Waterloo. Not even an impasse.)

Avenue Hoche goes northeast to Parc Monceau, with Sacré-Coeur visible in the distance on a hill off to the right. This avenue was named after Louis Lazare Hoche (1768–1797), who was a general in the French Revolutionary Army.

Avenue de Friedland goes off roughly to the west. Friedland was the site of a battle (what else?) in 1807, in which Napoléon’s army defeated a Russian army in East Prussia. In the photo, Sacré-Coeur is visible on the hill off to the left.

Next review from June 2012: Musée de l’Orangerie

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From the Arc de Triomphe there are twelve major avenues that radiate out in twelve directions. That is why the location was originally called L’Étoile (The Star) – now Place Charles de Gaulle-Étoile.

The best known of these twelve avenues is the Avenue des Champs-Elysées (Avenue of the Elysian Fields, the paradise of Greek mythology, where the souls of virtuous and heroic people went after they died). The Avenue des Champs-Elysées leads off to the southeast, towards the Place de la Concorde and the Louvre.

Going around clockwise from the Champs-Elysées, the next avenue is the Avenue Marceau (second photo), which leads off in a more southerly direction, towards the Montparnasse Tower.

Avenue Iéna, in the same photo, goes off towards Place d’Iéna and the Eiffel Tower.

Avenue Kléber (third photo) goes off to the south-southeast, with the Eiffel Tower still visible at the left side of the photo. This avenue was named after a general of the French army, Jean Baptiste Kléber (1753–1800).

Avenue Victor Hugo (fourth photo) leads off to the southeast. It was named of course after the great nineteenth century author who wrote Notre-Dame de Paris 1482, among many other works.

Avenue Foch, with its wide light brown gravelly sidewalks (fifth photo), goes off in an easterly direction towards the woods called Bois de Boulogne. This avenue was named after another general, Ferdinand Foch (1851-1929).

Next review from June 2012: The other six avenues (north side)

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To get up here, you first have to find the entrance to the pedestrian tunnel, which is on the even-numbered side of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées. Do not try to cross the traffic circle at ground level, because you won’t make it alive. It’s not like in Vietnam, where the drivers are aware of pedestrians and will swerve to miss them.

Admission to the Arc de Triomphe currently (as of 2012) costs 8 Euros for adults and 5 Euros for students aged 18 to 25. But a lot of people can get in for free, for instance everybody up to age 17 and people under 26 who are citizens of one of the twenty-seven countries of the European Union or are non-European residents of France. Also the Arc de Triomphe is included in the Paris Museum Pass so if you have one of those you don’t have to queue up at the ticket office at the base of the arch.

To get to the top you have to walk up the usual winding staircase, but it’s easier than most because there are two staircases, one for going up and one for going down, so the ascenders and the descenders don’t keep blocking each other’s way. There is an elevator aka lift which was out of order when I was there. I’m told it is usually out of order except when they do special tours for disabled people, in which case it miraculously starts working again. (Perhaps someone who has had experience with this can say more?) In any case, the elevator only goes up to the next-to-highest level, where the souvenir shop is, not directly up to the top.

From the top you have marvelous views in all directions, like this one of the Eiffel Tower (first photo) with the Avenue d’Iéna off to the left and a mysterious greened building on the right.

Other things you can see from the top of the arch include the Louvre (second photo), the Grand Palais (third photo) and of course the twelve avenues that radiate out from the arch in all directions (fourth photo). All around the viewing platform there are fences (fifth photo) which prevent you from falling off while still not impeding your view.

Next review from June 2012: Six of the twelve avenues (south side)

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The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by the Emperor Napoléon I in 1806 to celebrate the triumph of his armies over the rest of Europe in the early nineteenth century, particularly his triumph over the Russian and Austrian Empires at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805.

In recent decades, however, the Arch has merely served to demonstrate the triumph of cars over people. Cars have unlimited rights to careen around the circle that surrounds the Arch, where twelve major streets come together. People, if they want to visit the Arch, can only reach it by going through an underground tunnel like rats or moles.

Update 2012: I have now added four more photos: one of the sign showing people how to reach the Arc de Triomphe without being killed, one showing the entrance to the tunnel, one showing people in the tunnel and one showing traffic from inside the circle.

Next review from June 2012: From the top of the Arc de Triomphe

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Enjoyed my visit to the Arc De Triomphe, although I am not sure I would particularily love to climb all those steps again, but it is definitely one of my top 10 things to do in Paris. What was amazing was the view, really illustrates the fantastic town planning of the city, which is what makes it different from other high point. Was pleasantly suprised by the modern technology on the upper level of the Arc, specifally the 3D rotating model that lets your focus in and learn in more detail about the works of art on the building. There are toilets and seats to have a bit of rest from the cold or the steps and a lovely jam-packed souveniers shop.

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Lying beneath the Arc de Triumphe are the remains of an unknown French soldier from World War I. He was interred on Armistice Day 1920 and is honored on November 11 every year. A soldier from World War II was subsequently added.

The original idea was to inter the unknown soldier at the Pantheon, but somehow this seemed far more appropriate. I like to visit the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier when i visit other countries, just as a sign of respect for the sacrifices soldiers make.

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The arch and the place Charles-de-Gaulle which surrounds it, together form one of Paris' most famous landmarks. Twelve avenues radiate from the arch which explains why it is also called place de l'Etoile (etoile=star).

The arch commemorates Nepolean's victories, evoking at the same time imperial glory and the fate of the Unknown Solider, whose tomb lies beneath. A remberance ceremony is held here every year on the 11th of November.

If you decide to climb to the top of the arch,you will be rewarded with some excellent views of the Champs Elysee and the Eiffel Tower. There is a small museum detailing construction of the arch as well as other significant information.

Currently the fee to visit the top of the Arc is 9€ for Adults for more information about operating hours and group fees, check out their website.

This is one of the landmarks covered with the Museum Pass.

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The Arc de Triomphe (Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris.
The arch is at the top of a hill in the center of the huge area of the Star - Etual. The area is named so because of 12 largest arteries of city miss. Now it has another name - Charles's de Gaulle Square. Napoleon started to build an arch in 1806 in honour of the Great Army . The construction was finished in 1836. The prototype of an arch was Konstantin's Arch in Rome, but Arc de Triomphe surpassed its sizes and magnificence. It has almost square form - height of 50 meters, width - 45 meters.

Unlike the Roman arch, it has only one flight, width of 15 meters that shelfs could pass under the Arch. Arches is decorated by huge bas-reliefs, each of which represents any fragment of history of France. The bas-relief "Marseillaise" which represents a campaign of volunteers in 1792 is most known. The basic victories of Napoleon are embodied in the top bas-reliefs, and on sculptural boards names of great battles are engraved.

The Arc de Triomphe is a monument in Paris, France, that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile (Star Square).

It is at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The arch honors Napoleon kings. Inside and atop the arc there are all of the names of generals and wars fought. Underneath is the tomb of the unknown soldier from World War I.

But... Didn't you already really know that?