Quite possibly the most famous roundabout in the world holds a lot more than just the most dangerous game of chicken in Europe. The well know marble arch statue is one of Paris’s most popular attractions and is instantly recognisable to most. This will probably be my last attraction review of Paris as we didn’t go up the Eiffel Tower (because I chickened out) nor did we see the views from above the Notre Dame (didn’t realise you had to book to go up), so this is the only one I feel I can give a fair full review for.
Walking up from the metro station you immediately come up onto the famous Champs-Elysées street and straight away see the gigantic arch. After you’ve finished gawping and taking the first load of photos as it’s probably the best view of the whole structure close up, your first question will be…how do I get over to it? The answer is, do not cross the road. A few people tried this and got chased away by a very annoyed police van that chased mass groups of tourists away at least every ten minutes. There’s a subway passage you go underneath that takes you to the middle of the roundabout, my free tip of the day.
After you see how big the arch actually is once you’re underneath you then have the task of climbing the near 300 steps, not the hardest task in the world with a good opportunity to take an extremely cool picture of the spiralling stairs. Once you get near the top there’s the obvious gift shop as well as some other interesting facts about the design and history of the structure.
Once you get to the top you are greeted with some fantastic views. You have a full view of the Champs-Elysées from both sides, a good view of the Eiffel Tower and all of Paris. The Arc de Triomphe may not be the tallest structure, but there isn’t a lot you can’t see from here, and considering it was my only view of Paris from up high it is held in high regard for my personal experience. The weather only helped things as well by being a clear beautiful winter sunny day.
The two views go together nicely, the charming view I mentioned from my Montmartre review with all the similar buildings, not a view that is necessarily wonderful to look at but beautiful in its own sense giving it the proper cultural feel, with the more modern style complementing it nicely. The sky scrapers that stand out from the bottom end of the Champs-Elysées, the tall buildings such as the Eiffel Tower and Montparnasse, as well as the wonderful view towards the Louvre end of town. Essentially you have a fantastic 360 degree view from above.
Whilst this won’t take up your whole day it certainly is a fantastic way to start one off. We did this in the morning which we felt worked pretty well, the only other time that would be good to try it would be at night to see all the lights of the streets below. Whilst this attraction won’t completely blow your mind, I would definitely say it is must see/do and is certainly no disappointment.
Rating – 4 Stars.
An Average Explorer 