Arc de Triomphe, Paris

The Arc de Triomphe rises before you as a monumental arch of pale stone, its broad opening framed by powerful sculpted groups. Jean-François Chalgrin designed this neoclassical monument. Napoleon commissioned it to honour those who fought and died for France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars; the names of victories and generals cover its inner and outer surfaces.

Beneath the vault, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier commemorates unidentified French soldiers with an eternal flame. The arch reaches about 50 metres in height, with a great vault about 29 metres high. Its scale becomes clearer when you compare the opening with the sculpted figures at the base.

The most renowned group is François Rude’s La Marseillaise, showing volunteers setting out in 1792. Other major groups represent the Triumph of 1810, the Resistance of 1814, and the Peace of 1815. Construction began in 1806 and was completed in 1836, after work had been interrupted during the Bourbon Restoration.

The monument stands at the meeting point of twelve avenues, whose star-like arrangement gives the surrounding place its former name, Place de l’Étoile. Its story remains concentrated in the stone: military glory above, national remembrance beneath the arch.