In the first rush of love my fiancé and I decided to take a few days off and go away somewhere, a very Bridget Jones mini-break scenario! After looking at a few cities that we thought we would like to visit we decided on Paris. Paris is traditionally known as the city of romance and it did not disappoint. However this review is about the Arc de Triomphe, so I will stop rambling now.
The Arc de Triomphe was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 after his victory in Austerlitz, regarded as his greatest victory of all time and destroyed the armies of enemies Russia and Austria. The arc was not finished until 1836, after Napoleon's reign had finished and indeed after his death in 1821. The structure was designed by Jean François Thérèse Chalgrin and completed during the reign of Louis Philippe.
The Arc de Triomphe stands at around 50 metres and offers a good view across Paris in all directions. Accessing the Arc de Triomphe is easy and you can get there by the Metro (routes 1, 2, 6), RER (line 1) or bus 73. Once you get off the public transport do not stay for long up top. DO NOT try to cross the road! The safest way of getting to the actual Arc is through the subway found on the north of the Champs Elysés. You will find a ticket office in the subway also where you can buy a ticket for inside the Arc.
Tickets cost around €8 which roughly converts to £5.50 (think I did that right) and for that you get the chance to clamber up about 300 steps on a very narrow staircase; you also get to go in a small museum in the attic of the arc. To be fair I wasn't much interested in this and didn't pay any attention whatsoever to this section, my legs were aching from having to climb so many steps and I was struggling to breathe! The museum details the history of the Arc, but really is very small (well how much do think you could fit in the attic of an archway?) Onwards and upwards and you finally reach the outside again and you are actually quite high above the city. This is because the Arc de Triomphe stands atop a hill from which 12 avenues radiate in a star shape. Probably the most famous of which is the Champs Elysées which runs towards Place de la Concorde.
The views are really good from this point and even a person with vertigo (my other half) felt safe due to the massive fences designed to keep you from falling off. Looking towards the Eiffel Tower you can really gauge the height of the Arc, as it seems to be sunken. Around the perimeter of the arc you will find the usual tourist boards which allow you to identify what you should be able to see in the distance and these are quite useful if you are not familiar with the Paris skyline.
Anyway, you have taken in the view, what next? Well what I found most entertaining was watching the traffic around the road island. Some of you may have seen Britain's Worst Driver on the TV a while back. The finale was to drive around the Arc de Triomphe in rush hour traffic. How any of the drivers came back in one piece I do not know. It is crazy madness! Basically the French follow the rule on this island that traffic on the island must give way to traffic wanting to come onto the island, easy enough I here you say, well hold that thought, remember that there are 12 roads radiating from the Arc de Triomphe and therefore 12 entrances onto the island. Recipe for disaster I hear you mutter. Well you'd think so, but in the hour or so we spent looking at the traffic we saw not one minor scrape or major prang. Scooters, cars and vans all got on with each other surprisingly well except for the odd (for odd read almost constant) hoot of the horn. It's just so much fun.
On a serious note I would take some water with you for the trek up the steps as it can be thirsty work and there were no water facilities when I went, disabled access is non existant, or was when we were there and you would need to be reasonably steady on your feet to manage it all the way up the steps. For this reason the Arc de Triomphe is not really suitable for very small children either.
All in all, for a great view of Paris I would rather go to the top of the Arc de Triomphe than get crammed in a lift to go up the Eiffel Tower, well worth a visit.
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