Guess where we are now.....
The Champs-Élysées is the most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris. Its full name is actually "Avenue des Champs-Élysées". With its cinemas, cafés, and luxury specialty shops, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as $1.25 million a year for 1,000 square feet (100 m²) of space, it remains the 2nd most expensive strip of real estate in the world (the first in Europe) after New York City's Fifth Avenue. The name refers to the Elysian Fields (Champs means 'fields' in French), the place of the blessed in Greek mythology.
There is the view and there is THE Arc de Triomphe!
The Arc de Triomphe is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It was commissioned in 1806 after the victory at Austerlitz by Emperor Napoleon I at the peak of his fortunes. The arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and today also includes the tomb of the unknown soldier.
Here is a plaque commemorating when Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France after WWI (the Germans annxed them after 1871). Big deal/trouble between Germany and France!
Napoleon I's military victories...
and France's 'Tomb of the Unknown Soldier'....
The cool thing is you can go to the top. So the road on the left is the Champs Elysees.
Those buildings off in the distance is La Défense. It is Europe's largest district specifically built for business. La Défense is named for the statue, La Défense de Paris, which was built in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The name of the area sometimes causes confusion with visitors, who occasionally assume it is some kind of military zone or establishment.
That is a view of the area of Montmatre and the basilica called Sacre-Coeur. You'll definitely see more of that later on!
And there she be! THE Ihh-fell Tour ;) I just find it funny how something that was meant to be 'temporary' became THE symbol of Paris and possibly France.
It was built between 1887 and 1889 as the entrance arch for the Exposition Universelle, a World's Fair marking the centennial celebration of the French Revolution. Eiffel originally planned to build it in Canada, for the Universal Exposition of 1888, but they rejected it (Ow! Bet that hurt! ;). The tower was opened on 6 May 1889.
