ARC DE TRIOMPHE
The best day to visit the world’s most familiar triumphal arch is December 2, the date that marks Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Austerlitz in 1805. Work began on the 164-ft (50-m) arch in 1806 but was not completed until 1836, due in part to Napoleon’s fall from power. Four years later, Napoleon’s funeral procession passed beneath it, on its way to his burial in Hôtel des Invalides. Traffic is banned along the Champs-Elysées on the first Sunday of the month, making it easier to access and get that perfect photo of the Arc de Triomphe.
Arc de Triomphe
NEED TO KNOW
Place Charles-de-Gaulle, 75008 • 01 55 37 73 77 (inquiries) • www.paris-arc-de-triomphe.fr/en • Open Apr–Sep: 10am– 11pm daily (to 10:30pm Oct–Mar; last adm 45 min before closing);
closed Jan 1, May 1, May 8 (am), Jul 14 (am), Nov 11 (am), Dec 25, and events • Adm $13.50; reduced $10 (under 18 and EU 18–25 free)
- Arrive early to see the golden tone of the stonework at its best.
- Enjoy the old-world charm of Le Fouquet (99 Ave des Champs-Elysées). Expensive, but worth it.
- Arch access is via the underground tunnel only.
1. Museum
Within the arch is a small but interesting museum which tells the history of its construction and gives details of various celebrations and funerals that the arch has seen over the years. The more recent of these are shown in a short video.
2. Departure of the Volunteers in 1792
One of the most striking sculptures is on the front right base. It shows French citizens leaving to defend their nation against Austria and Prussia.
3. Triumph of Napoleon
As you look at the arch from the Avenue des Champs-Elysées, J P Cortot’s high-relief on the left base shows the restored Triumph of Napoleon. It celebrates the Treaty of Vienna peace agreement signed in 1810, when Napoleon’s empire was in its heyday.
4. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
In the center of the arch flickers the eternal flame on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a victim of World War I buried on November 11, 1920. It is symbolically reignited every day at 6:30pm.
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
5. Viewing Platform
Take the elevator or climb 284 steps to the top of the Arc de Triomphe to get a sublime view of Paris and a sense of the arch’s dominant position in the center of the Place de l’Etoile. To the east is the Champs-Elysées and to the west is the Grande Arche de La Défense. There are another 40 steps after the elevator.
Viewing Platform
6. Battle of Aboukir
Above the Triumph of Napoleon carving is a scene showing Napoleonic victory over the Turks in 1799. The same victory was commemorated on canvas in 1806 by the French painter Antoine Gros and is now on display at the Palace of Versailles (Place d’Armes).
Triumph of Napoleon carving
7. Battle of Austerlitz
Another battle victory is shown on a frieze on the arch’s north side. It depicts Napoleon’s heavily outnumbered troops breaking the ice on Lake Satschan in Austria, a tactic which drowned thousands of enemy troops.
8. Frieze
A frieze running around the arch shows French troops departing for battle (east) and their victorious return (west).
9. General Marceau’s Funeral
Marceau died in battle against the Austrian army in 1796, after a famous victory against them the previous year. His funeral is depicted in a frieze located above the Departure of the Volunteers in 1792.
10. Thirty Shields
Immediately below the top of the arch runs a row of 30 shields, each carrying the name of a Napoleonic victory.
THE GREAT AXIS
The Arc de Triomphe is the central of three arches; together they create a grand vision of which even Napoleon would have been proud. He was responsible for the first two, placing the Arc de Triomphe directly in line with the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in front of the Louvre, which also celebrates the victory at Austerlitz. In 1989, the trio was completed with the Grande Arche de La Défense. The 5-mile- (8-km-) long Grand Axe runs from here to the Louvre’s Pyramid.
