Arc de Triomphe

Arc de Triomphe stands at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, in the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, Paris. The arch rises 50 metres high and measures 45 metres across. Jean Chalgrin designed it in 1806, after Emperor Napoleon commissioned it following victory at Austerlitz. Its vault reaches nearly 30 metres, with an opening more than 14 metres wide. The structure forms the central element of the Axe historique, a route linking the Louvre courtyard with the Grande Arche de la Défense.

Construction stopped during the Bourbon Restoration, then finished between 1833 and 1836. Its purpose honours those who fought and died for France during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. Base sculptures include La Marseillaise and The Triumph of 1810. Works by Jean-Pierre Cortot, François Rude, and Antoine Étex give the base its sculptural groups. Names of French victories and generals cover both inner and outer surfaces. Beneath the vault, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier bears an eternal flame commemorating unidentified First World War dead.

City: Paris
Content updated: 2026-06-22

Image: Couché, Louis-François (dit Couché fils) (en 1782 - 05–10–1849), graveur CC0
Image: Anonyme, graveur CC0
Image: Paul Joseph Dumouza, Pierre Frédéric LehnertPublic domain
Image: Publisher: Lévy et Neurdein réunis. Paris.Public domain
Image: U.S. Army Air ServicePublic domain

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