La Grande Arche and L' Arc de Triomphe
Trip Start
Apr 30, 2004
1
10
34
Trip End
May 09, 2004
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Paris,
France
Sunday, May 2, 2004
While we are seated at the café, an elderly man approaches us and starts telling us stories about the area. He is very affable, and after we ascertain that he is not trying to sell us anything or is a Jehovah Witness, we warm to his fascinating conversation. He is a German who has lived in Paris many years, and loves coming out on a weekend and meeting visitors. He shows us the art works all around, including "Cesar's Thumb". We enter the CNIT building - Le Palais de La Défense, which has one of the largest unsupported roof spans in the world. Within the complex is a Hilton Hotel with rooms overlooking the indoor shopping precinct. We finally arrive at La Grande Arche. It is so huge you could stand the whole of Notre Dame Cathedral inside it. It is not just a monument, but is in fact a remarkable office building. Unfortunately the lifts are not working. According to our voluble friend, they have been out of action for weeks, and only the official lifts for staff and residents are working. Vive La France! The view from the base of the arch across Paris towards the Arc de Triomphe is stunning, which is our next stop.
Back to the gigantic Metro station and onto on the non-stop fast train to the original Arc de Triomphe.
01. Tea and cakes at La Defence
We alight at the side of the ever elegant Champs-Elysées, take our photos, and then traverse the pedestrian tunnel to the arch. I remember the road that runs around the Arc as that which Chevy Chase in the film "European Vacation" drove around endlessly, quite unable to extricate himself from the fast moving traffic revolving around the monument. Even on a relatively quiet Saturday afternoon, one can see the challenge. http://www.paris.org/Monuments/Arc/. The Arch is enormous, 50 mts. high, and was, naturellement, built to celebrate the glorious victories of Napoleon Bonaparte. It was not finished until 1836, with a hiatus while Napoleon was in exile on Elba. Four years after completion, Napoleon's funeral procession passed beneath the massive arch.
We elect to ascend to the viewing platform. Of course the lifts aren't working again, so we have to slog up 284 winding steps at a inflated sum of €7.00 (US$ 8.50). Nevertheless, the view at the top is magnificent. The monument is the centre point where twelve Parisian avenues come together to form a star at the top of the Champs-Elysées, providing one of the worlds grandest city views. Here Bryan experiments with the panoramic capabilities of our new digital camera. We think you will agree he did a pretty good job.
Off to one side is the Eiffel Tower. This is our next objective, but we plan to visit it at night, so our schedule calls for a return to the hotel, a rest, some dinner and return to the Tower by around 8:00 pm to catch the sunset.
