Arc de Triomphe

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The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France. It stands at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, in the middle of a huge roundabout where twelve avenues meet like the points of a star. The arch is about 50 metres tall, 45 metres wide and 22 metres deep, and the big central opening is about 29 metres high.

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At a glance

Country: France
Location: Paris, France
Built: 1836
Height: 50 m
Type: Monument

Quick answers

Where is Arc de Triomphe?

Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, France.

When was Arc de Triomphe built?

Arc de Triomphe was built in 1836.

How tall is Arc de Triomphe?

Arc de Triomphe is about 50 m tall.

Napoleon's triumphal arch honouring French armies, at the hub of twelve radiating avenues.

Emperor Napoleon ordered it in 1806 to honour the soldiers who fought for France in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. The names of French victories and generals are carved on its inner and outer walls. Beneath the arch lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I, marked by an eternal flame.

Building the arch

The architect Jean-François Chalgrin designed it in 1806, inspired by the ancient Arch of Titus in Rome. Just laying the foundations took two years. In 1810 Napoleon rode into Paris with his new bride under a wooden model of the finished arch, because the real one was far from done.

Chalgrin died in 1811, and work stopped until 1823 under the next government. The arch was finished in 1836 under King Louis Philippe I, at a reported cost of about 10 million francs.

Parades, flame and tomb

The arch became the gathering point for French troops after victories and for the Bastille Day parade. After the Unknown Soldier was buried here, parades stopped marching through the arch and now go around it out of respect for the tomb.

Many leaders followed this custom, including Charles de Gaulle in 1944. In 1998 the arch was lit with pictures of the French football team after they won the World Cup.

Surprises over the years

Plans to put a huge statue on top never worked out. A plaster chariot group stood on top from 1882 to 1886 but crumbled in the weather and was removed.

In August 1919 a pilot, Charles Godefroy, flew a biplane under the main vault. By the 1960s soot had blackened the stone, so it was cleaned in 1965 and 1966. In 2021 the arch was wrapped in silvery blue fabric for an art project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

Fun facts

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the First World War lies beneath it.
In 1810 Napoleon welcomed his new bride under a wooden model of the arch because the real one was not ready.
A pilot flew a biplane under the main vault in 1919.
The arch in Pyongyang, North Korea, was modelled on it and is slightly taller.
In 2021 the whole arch was wrapped in fabric for an art project.