Arc de Triomphe
Place Charles de Gaulle (8)
Underground: Charles de Gaulle – Etoile
open: April-September: daily
from 10 am to 11 pm,
October-May: daily from 10 am till 10.30 pm.
The viewing platform fifty metres above the ground offers an
excellent panorama of the city, especially along the breathtaking line
of buildings stretching from the futuristic ‘Grande Arche’, which
serves as a window on the world of La Défense, to the venerable
buildings of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe was erected as a symbol of
Napoleon I’s famous military triumphs. The construction started in
1806, but it took another 30 years before the arch was finished. The
emperor had long since gone, of course. The square of which this
gigantic monument is the centre used to be called originally ‘Place de
l’Etoile’, because of the twelve elegant boulevards that form a star
at their point of joining the square. August 1944 saw the citizens of
Paris stream into this area to celebrate with General De Gaulle and the
Allied Forces that liberated the city the end of the German occupation.
Inside the arch an exhibition tells of the history of the building.
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