Sure, when you think of breathtaking views of Paris, France, you think of the Eiffel Tower. However, for less money and much less of a wait, the Arc de Triomphe is more than a giant concrete road block in the middle of the Champs-Elysees.
The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Emperor Napoleon in 1806 and took three decades to complete. The structure is 50 metres or 164 high – the equivalent of ten or eleven story office building. The observation deck atop the Arc gives 360 degree views of Paris.
This is a series of images taken back in 2008 during an unseasonably warm and sunny February visit.
There are walking tunnels beneath the roadway – use them! Around the Arc de Triomphe is a massive chaotic traffic circle that not even Johnny Knoxville and the Jackass crowd would try to cross. If you spend any amount of time watching this complicated dance of automobiles, you will witness accidents.
A view down the Champs-Elysees from the top of the Arc de Triomphe.
This is one of six reliefs sculpted into the facade of the Arc de Triomphe. This one is dubbed “Les funérailles du général Marceau” or General Marceau’s Burial.
“Le Depart de 1792” is one of four main sculptures on the Arc. It is also known as “La Marseillaise”.
Inside the top portion of the Arc. This area serves as a museum of France’s military triumph in both the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.
Long and drawn out. Just says that the monument was started in 1806 and it took three decades to complete. These are the predecessors of the French in Montreal, Quebec that take decades to complete a small stretch of highway.
The view from beneath the Arc. The intricacy is pretty amazing and a lot to take in.
This is the way down from the upper section of the Arc. This spiral staircase looks as tight as it really is.
A rare slow moment in the traffic hell that is Place Charles de Gualle. These are the cobblestones that the finishers of the Tour de France ride on the last day of the race.
Another view from beneath the Arc de Triomphe.
Another view down one of the roads that radiate from the Place Charles de Gualle. High above the chaos, it is a pretty awesome place to take in central Paris.
