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Arc de Triomphe, Paris – All roads lead to the Roman Arch

The Arc de Triomphe in Paris occupies a place on the Place de l’Etoile at the western end of the Champs Elysees and in the center of a star of twelve main avenues. It’s no wonder, then, that the roundabout that surrounds this triumphal arch is particularly busy. Anyone studying an aerial view of the avenues leading from Place de l’Etoile would conclude that all roads must lead to this impressive Roman arch.

After all, the Arc de Triomphe was modeled by its architect, Jean Chalgrin, on the 1st-century Arch of Titus located on Via Sacra, Rome. The Parisian version, dating from 1806, was commissioned after Napoleon’s victory at Austerlitz, his greatest triumph, and dominates the landscape from 50 m high.

However, the view of the Arc de Triomphe was not always so easy. Located on the right bank of the Seine, the arch was only subject to the rationalization of its surroundings under the supervision of Baron Haussmann, who was appointed by Napoleon III in 1852 to “modernize” the city. Haussmann redesigned the Place de l’Etoile and created the long avenues that give the arch its perspective.

Before Haussmann, the city echoed its medieval background, with winding streets and worn houses. Haussmann adorned the area around the Arc de Triomphe with tree-lined boulevards, extensive gardens, and buildings of uniform heights.

With its strong military sentiment, evoked by the iconography of young Frenchmen fighting bearded Germanic warriors, the Arc de Triomphe became a destination for troops to parade after military campaigns. The French paraded there in 1919 and 1945, the Germans in 1871 and 1940.

Probably the most daring journey to the arch was by a pilot named Charles Godefroy, who rode through it in his biplane in 1919 to celebrate the end of the First World War.

Nowadays, if you want to get there, you will have to take the RER or the Metro and get off at the Charles de Gaulle-Etoile stop. You will have to take an underpass to get to the arch as the roundabout is too crowded.

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