Monuments in Paris: Arc de Triomphe

Here’s something we passed by almost every other day, while we were in the city — a super huge monument that honors the Grand Armee, soldiers who have fought with Napoleon during the wars.

Arc de Triomphe is located in the middle of a famous paved road junction referred as  the Etoile. Each side of the monument is decorated with reliefs showcasing the Napoleon’s victories. In the inner part of the monuments, names of generals who had fought the wars are inscribed. At the bottom of the monument, you’ll see a fire that is constantly burning — it’s the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, to commemorate dead soldiers who were never identified.

To get to the monument, we exited the Charles de Gaulle Etoile station and tooj an underground access to the monument (we didn’t consider crossing the busy junction to reach the monument — that’s a suicide attempt). We landed just beneath the arch.

Reza led me up to top of the monument. The elevators were unfortunately not working that day, so we had to climb the old and narrow spiral stairs FML. There were many steps. The arc is, afterall 50 meters tall. Not cool for claustrophobes and those with asthma. I felt like dying.

But I made it!

Regardless of the strong wind and thick cloud, the 360° view of the city was fantastic. We could see all the 12 avenues that were connected to the Etoile.

We had a perfect view of Champs Elysees.

Also a great view of the Eiffel.

This was probably the place that provided me the best view of the city. I bet it looks even more magical at night.

Learn more about Arc de Triomphe by visiting Wikipedia and the France Center of National Monuments: Arc de Triomphe.