Arc de Triomphe

Paris, France

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. It should not be confused with a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I.

The triumphal arch was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon at the peak of his fortunes. Laying the foundations alone took two years and, in 1810, when Napoleon entered Paris from the west with his bride Archduchess Marie-Louise of Austria, he had a wooden mock-up of the completed arch constructed. The architect, Jean Chalgrin, died in 1811 and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot. During the Bourbon Restoration, construction was halted and it would not be completed until the reign of King Louis-Philippe, between 1833 and 1836, by the architects Goust, then Huyot, under the direction of Héricart de Thury. On 15 December 1840, brought back to France from Saint Helena, Napoleon's remains passed under it on their way to the Emperor's final resting place at the Invalides. Prior to burial in the Panthéon, the body of Victor Hugo was exposed under the Arc during the night of 22 May 1885.

The monument stands 50 metres in height, 45m wide and 22m deep. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is built on such a large scale that, three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 (marking the end of hostilities in World War I), Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.

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Address

Avenue des Champs-Élysées 156, Paris, France
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Details

Founded: 1806
Category: Statues in France

More Information

arc-de-triomphe.monuments-nationaux.fr
en.wikipedia.org
www.arcdetriompheparis.com

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Notre Dame de Paris (4,6 km)
Eiffel Tower (1,7 km)
Louvre (3,4 km)
Sacré-Coeur (3,8 km)
Grand Palais (1,5 km)
Musée d'Orsay (2,8 km)
Place de la Concorde (2,1 km)
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel (3,1 km)
Conciergerie (4,2 km)


Château de Versailles (14,9 km)
Château de Fontainebleau (60,3 km)
Château de Chantilly (38,2 km)
Sainte-Chapelle de Vincennes (10,9 km)
Château de Vincennes (10,8 km)
Basilica of St. Denis (8,3 km)
Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte (46 km)
Villa Savoye (20,3 km)
Château de Malmaison (9,4 km)

User Reviews

Benjamin Meade (10 months ago)
Excellent sight. Make sure you look closely at each part as there are beautiful sculptures commemorating important historical events. Spend some time learning about each sculpture. Beautiful piece of history here!
Nathan Clements (10 months ago)
Great view of the whole of Paris. Had brilliant luck with clear blue skies and could see for miles. Very little queue (late morning Friday). Stairs were quite tight, steep, and worn.
Bharat Jain (10 months ago)
I feel Arc De triumph is much more then its history. In today's world Arc de Triumph and Champs Elysee's are need to be discussed together. The Avenue is a paradise for Shoppers. I am amazed to see the transformation of street from day time to night time. One must visit Paris twice Once in Day time and Second in Night time.
Mohsin Munir (11 months ago)
This is a Paris’ Icon and I recommend you take the time to get up close and not just pass it by or view it from a distance as it’s a remarkable historical monument to many fallen heroes. Beautiful structure, we (me & friends) went in the afternoon, and then walked down a sweeping boulevard to the river. As soon as you come out of the Metro on the escalator, it's right in front of you. Watch out for groups of people trying to get you to sign up for things! There are a lot of people in the area generally, lots of tour groups, and the traffic is insane! Please use the underground walks way!! Once at the Arc, itself it's nice to walk around, you can pay to go up to the top if you like. PS: Make sure you go to the top! For the best view of Paris, be sure to go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe. It is a fair climb to the top but you won’t be disappointed as it provides a wonderful alternative view of the city. We visited at day and the unobstructed view of the entire city was amazing. It's a better view than going to the top of the Eiffel Tower because you can see the Eiffel Tower.
Lorenzo Maglio (12 months ago)
It's famous and it's amazing. Even my cat knows that. If you are in Paris you HAVE to visit it. It's probably the most beautiful monument with the tomb of Napoleon. If you happen to gen a nice and clean day (yes I know, Paris...) the monument shines. Now please have a look at the 1 and 2 star reviews if you want to have a good time.
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Wawel Hill – a Jurassic limestone rock, a dominant feature in the landscape of Kraków, have provided a safe haven for people who have settled here since the Paleolithic Age. It is supposed that the Slav people started living on Wawel hill as early as the 7th century. Early medieval legends tell stories about a dreadful dragon that lived in a cave on Wawel Hill, about his slayer Krakus, and about the latter’s daughter Wanda, who drowned herself in the Vistula rather than marry a German knight. Towards the end of the first millennium A.D Wawel began to play the role of the centre of political power.In the 9th century it became the principal fortified castrum of the Vislane tribe. The first historical ruler of Poland, Miesco I (c.965-992) of the Piast dynasty as well as his successors: Boleslas the Brave (992-1025) and Miesco II (1025-1034) chose Wawel Hill as one of their residences.

At that time Wawel became one of the main Polish centres of Christianity. The first early Romanesque and Romanesque sacral buildings were raised here, including a stone cathedral that was erected after the bishopric of Kraków was established in the year 1000.

During the reign of Casimir the Restorer (1034-1058) Wawel became a significant political and administrative centre for the Polish State. Casimir’s son, Boleslas the Bold (1058-1079) began the construction of a second Romanesque cathedral, which was finished by Boleslas the Wrymouth (1102-1138). In his last will of 1138, this prince divided Poland into districts, and provided that Kraków was to be the residence of the senior prince. In 1291 the city of Kraków along with Wawel Hill temporarily fell under the Czech rule, and Wenceslas II from the Premysl dynasty was crowned King of Poland in Wawel cathedral.

In 1306 the Duke of Kuyavia Ladislas the Short (1306-1333) entered Wawel and was crowned King of Poland in the Cathedral in 1320. It was the first historically recorded coronation of a Polish ruler on Wawel Hill. Around that time, at the initiative of Ladislas the Short, the construction of the third Gothic cathedral began, the castle was expanded and the old wooden and earthen fortifications were replaced by brick ones. The tomb of Ladislas the Short in the cathedral started a royal necropolis of Polish kings in Krakow.The last descendant of the Piast dynasty, Casimir the Great (1333-1370) brought Wawel to a state of unprecedented splendour. In 1364 the expanded gothic castle witnessed the marriage of Casimir’s granddaughter Elizabeth to Charles IV accompanied by a famous convention of kings and princes, subsequently entertained by a rich burgher Wierzynek. The accession to the throne in 1385 of Jadwiga from the Hungarian dynasty of Andegavens, and her marriage to a Lithuanian prince Ladislas Jagiello (1386-1434) started another era of prosperity for Wawel. The royal court employed local and western European artists and also Rus painters. During the reign of Casimir Jagiellon (1447-1492) the silhouette of the hill was enriched by three high brick towers: the Thieves’ Tower, the Sandomierz Tower and the Senatorial Tower. The first humanists in Poland and tutors to the king’s sons: historian Jan Długosz and an Italian by the name Filippo Buonacorsi (also known as Callimachus) worked there at that time.

The Italian Renaissance arrived at Wawel in the early 16th century. King Alexander (1501-1506) and his brother Sigismund I the Old (1506-1548) commissioned the construction of a new palace in place of the Gothic residence, with an impressive large courtyard with arcaded galleries which was completed about 1540. Sigismund’s patronage also left an indelible impression in the cathedral, where a family chapel was erected, known today as Sigismund’s Chapel - the work of Bartolomeo of Berrecci Florence, and through various foundations, one of which was that of a large bell, called the Sigismund to commemorate the king. Close artistic and cultural relations with Italy were strengthened in 1518 by the king’s marriage to Bona Sforza. Alongside Italian artists, German architects, wood workers, painters and metal smiths worked for the king. The last descendant of the Jagiellonian dynasty, Sigismund II Augustus (1548-1572), enriched the castle’s interiors with a magnificent collection of tapestries woven in Brussels. In the “Golden Age” of Polish culture Wawel became one of the main centres of humanism in Europe.

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After Poland had lost its independence in 1795, the troops of partitioning nations, Russia, Prussia and Austria, subsequently occupied Wawel which finally passed into the hands of the Austrians. The new owners converted the castle and some of the secular buildings into a military hospital, and demolished some others, including churches. After the period of the Free City of Kraków (1815-1846) Wawel was once more annexed by Austria and turned into a citadel dominating the city. By the resolution passed by the Seym of Galicia in 1880, the castle was presented as a residence to the Emperor of Austria Franz Josef I. The Austrian troops left the hill between 1905-1911. At the turn of the 20th century a thorough restoration of the cathedral was conducted, and shortly afterwards a process of restoration of the royal castle began which lasted several decades.

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