In 1806, just after the Battle of Austerlitz, Napoleon said to his soldiers, "you will march home through arches of victory". Not quite as he envisioned, the Arc was finished in time for the funeral procession carrying his remains (19 years dead) from exile in St. Helen's, to pass beneath it on the way to his internment in le Tombeau de Napoleon. In 1921, the remains of the Unknown Soldier were buried underneath the arch, and the flame is kept lit to honor those who have fought and died for France.
Finished in 1836, the Arc stands at the middle of the world's largest roundabout - eight lanes of traffic circling - the only roundabout in France where incoming traffic has the right of way. A dozen avenues, all tree-lined, radiate out as envisioned by city planner Haussmann - a series of major boulevards with monuments at the center of intersections. From the top of the Arc, you look east down the Champs-Élysées to the Place de la Concorde, the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre; and the Pantheon in the distance.
It doesn't dawn on you immediately when you first come to the city , but gradually you come to the realization that Paris is one of the few large cities without skyscrapers in the central city - and it really changes how you experience the city. From the top of the Arc you can clearly see the area - La Defense - where they have concentrated high rise buildings since the 1950's (with one notable exception built in the central city in the 1970's and seen in the top left of the picture above).
Getting a little bit better with the selfie feature......
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