The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de l'Etoile, at the western end of the Champs Elysees. The arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and today also includes the tomb of unknown soldiers. The Arc is the linchpin of the historic axis (L'Axe historique) a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace to the outskirts of Paris. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806, and its iconographic program pitted heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail and s
...Read More