Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe stands at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de l'Etoile, at the western end of the Champs-Elysees in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. Twelve avenues meet at the roundabout around it. Napoleon ordered the arch in 1806, after his victory at Austerlitz, to honour the French armies.

The architect Jean Chalgrin designed it, drawing on the arches of ancient Rome, but work slowed after Napoleon's fall. It was finally completed in 1836 under King Louis-Philippe. Napoleon's remains passed beneath it in 1840 on their way to Les Invalides.

The arch is about 50 metres high and 45 metres wide. Its four large sculptural groups include the Departure of the Volunteers of 1792, known as La Marseillaise, by Francois Rude. The names of French battles and of hundreds of generals are carved on the inner walls.

Beneath the arch lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, a French soldier of the First World War buried there in 1921. An eternal flame was lit in 1923 and is rekindled every evening at 6.30 pm in a short ceremony. Inside the arch, a small museum covers its history, and 284 steps lead up to the roof terrace, which looks down the Champs-Elysees toward the Louvre and across to La Defense and the Eiffel Tower.

Walking around the outside is free. The roof terrace requires a ticket, sold online by the Centre des monuments nationaux at a full rate of €16, with free entry for under 18s and for EU residents under 26. The lift has been out of service for maintenance, so be ready to climb the 284 steps. Reach the arch only through the underground passage from the Champs-Elysees, not across the roundabout. Charles de Gaulle Etoile metro station is beside it.

Beyond its height and width, the arch is 22.21 metres deep, and the central vault alone rises 29.19 metres and spans 14.62 metres. It was the tallest triumphal arch in the world until 1938, when the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City overtook it. The Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, finished in 1982, copied its design and stands slightly taller at 60 metres.

The inner walls and pillars carry the names of 158 battles alongside the generals. A plaster group of horses and chariot by Alexandre Falguière stood on top from 1882 to 1886 before the weather wore it down. In 1916 a sword broke off the Marseillaise relief just as the Battle of Verdun began, and tarpaulins were hung to hide the damage.

The vault has seen some unusual moments. In 1919 the pilot Charles Godefroy flew a Nieuport biplane through it, and the flight was filmed for the newsreels. In 1995 a bomb planted near the arch by the Armed Islamic Group of Algeria wounded 17 people, and in 1998 portraits of France's World Cup winning team were projected onto the stone. Sunset is the most popular time on the roof, so book a slot ahead in summer.