The Triumphal Arc (in French language “Arc de Triomphe”) is a very important symbol of Paris and it is at the beginning of the Champs Elisées Avenue, in the middle of Place de l’Etoile.
The arc was planned as a neoclassical version of the old triumphal arcs of the Roman Empire. It is 50 metres high and 45 metres wide and in its internal walls the names of 558 French generals are carved.
Napoleon Bonaparte commissioned it in 1806 after having won the Austerlitz battle.
At the foot of the arc there is a museum where you can find Napoleon’s objects and some finds dating back to World War I, besides historical records belonging to the arc itself.