Paris - Triumphal Arch Arc de Triomphe

On the east and west fronts of the arch, which is 50m/164ft high and 45m/148ft wide, are four reliefs with over-lifesize figures depicting the departure, the victories and the glorious return of the French armies. Particularly notable is the relief by François Rude (1784-1855) on the Champs-Elysées front, "Departure of the Volunteers of 1792", also known as "The Marseillaise", which depicts the troops setting out, led by the winged spirit of Liberty. On the inner surface of the arch are the names of over 660 generals and more than a hundred battles.

At the foot of the Arc de Triomphe is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated in 1921 as a memorial to the dead of World War I. Every evening at 6:30 p.m. a small delegation of old soldiers rekindle the flame at the tomb, and every year on November 11, the anniversary of the Armistice of 1918, there are ceremonies commemorating the dead of both world wars.

From the viewing platform (reached in a lift by way of an intermediate level) are panoramic views, among the most striking in Paris, along the 12 avenues which radiate from the Place de l'Etoile ( now officially Place Charles-de-Gaulle): the straight line running from the Champs-Elysées to Place de la Concorde and the Louvre; in the opposite direction the Grande Arche in the heart of La Défense; to the northeast Montmartre, with the Sacré-Coeur; and to the south the Eiffel Tower, the Dôme des Invalides and the Tour Montparnasse.

A small museum below the platform contains an exhibition illustrating the history of the Arc de Triomphe, mementos of Napoleon and relics of World War II.