Arc de Triomphe

Napoleon commissioned the Arc de Triomphe in 1806 to honour the Grande Armée after the victory at Austerlitz. He never saw it completed — construction stalled for decades and the arch was only finished in 1836 under Louis-Philippe, fifteen years after Napoleon's death. His body passed under it for the first time in December 1840, when his remains were repatriated from Saint Helena.

The four main reliefs on the pillars are the arch's highlight — François Rude's Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 (the one closest to the Champs-Élysées, better known as La Marseillaise), Cortot's Triumph of 1810, and two later reliefs commemorating the Treaty of Paris and Peace. The inside walls list 660 French generals and 128 battles; the ones underlined are those where the general died.

The tomb of the Unknown Soldier lies beneath the vault, buried in 1920 after WWI, with an eternal flame lit every evening at 6:30 PM by veterans in a small public ceremony that's worth catching if you're in the area at the time. The name of every French war since 1914 is inscribed on the wall around it.

The 284-step spiral staircase up to the roof rewards you with one of the best views of Paris — the Champs-Élysées running dead-straight to the Louvre in one direction and to La Défense in the other, with all twelve avenues radiating out below. Reach the arch via the underground passage from the Champs-Élysées side — do NOT try to cross the 12-lane roundabout at street level.