One of the largest triumphal arches in the world, the 49.5 metre high Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to commemorate the military victories of his army. It was completed 30 years later during the reign of Louis Philippe who dedicated it to French military victories, the French revolutionary army and the French army in general. Today the Arc honours all those who have fought and died for France, most noteably the Unknown Soldier, whose body was removed from the battlefields of Verdun and interred here on Armistice Day 1920. The tomb is marked by an eternal flame burning in memory of all those lost and never identified during two World Wars. The Arc de Triomphe is located at the western end of the Champs-Elysees at the centre of a star shaped arrangement of 12 radiating avenues (place Charles de Gaulle-Etoile), most of which bear the name of a famous Napoleonic battle. Part of the Axe Historique, the Arc also forms the focal point of a pre-determined sequence of monuments running from the Arc du Carrousel in the Tuilieries gardens, through the length of the Champs-Elysees, to the Obelisque de Luxor on place de la Concorde - an impressive vista that is best appreciated from the viewing platform on the top of the Arc.
Transport to the Arc de Triomphe
