Every good tour saves something big for the end. Our Paris illumination coach tour saved something 50 metres tall.
After the Eiffel Tower sparkling over Trocadéro, Dimple, Tin and I figured the night couldn’t get much more dramatic. Then the coach pulled up to the Arc de Triomphe, glowing at the end of the Champs-Élysées, with traffic swirling around it like it was the world’s most stressful merry-go-round.
We hopped off the coach and joined the crowd at the pavement edge, phones up, across the roundabout from the arch. Dimple and I got our proof-we-were-here selfie first, obviously.
Napoleon ordered it, then waited 30 years
In 1806, Napoleon was riding high. He’d just beaten the Austrian and Russian armies at Austerlitz, and he wanted Paris to have a victory arch to match. He borrowed the idea from ancient Rome, especially the Arch of Titus.
There was one catch. It took 30 years to build. Napoleon died in 1821, so he never saw it finished.
He didn’t wait quietly, though. He had a full-size wooden mock-up put up for his 1810 wedding entry into Paris. That’s one way to make your entrance.
What to look for
The two big sculptures: facing the arch from the Champs-Élysées, on the left is Napoleon being crowned by Victory.
On the right is the famous Marseillaise, with a winged Liberty shouting the volunteers into battle.
- The names: 158 battles and 660 military leaders are carved into it. The underlined ones died in battle.
- The star: the arch sits where 12 avenues meet, which is why the square used to be called Place de l’Étoile.
The flame that inspired Arlington
Under the arch lies an unknown French soldier from World War I, laid to rest in 1921. The Flame of Remembrance has burned there since 1923, and it’s rekindled every evening in a public ceremony. Jacqueline Kennedy saw the flame on a visit in 1961, and it inspired the eternal flame she asked for at JFK’s grave at Arlington.
It’s the one quiet corner of a very loud roundabout, and it’s worth a moment.
If you want to go up
We didn’t climb it this time. The 284 steps are a future-us problem.
- 284 steps, and no lift right now. The lift has been out of service since July 2026 and is due back sometime in 2027. Bring your legs (we’ll bring ours next time).
- Don’t cross the roundabout. Use the underground passage from the top of the Champs-Élysées or Avenue de la Grande-Armée. Twelve avenues of Paris traffic are not a shortcut.
- Tickets: €16 from October to March, and €22 from April to September (€16 on Wednesdays). Under-18s and EU residents aged 18 to 25 go free. The tomb and flame area is free for everyone.
- Hours: the rooftop is open late, until 10:30 PM in winter and 11 PM in summer. Check the official site before you go.
- Metro: Charles de Gaulle–Étoile, on lines 1, 2 and 6 and RER A.
Quick answers
Yes. It’s 284 steps, and for now there’s no lift.
Napoleon ordered it in 1806 after his win at Austerlitz. It took 30 years, and he died before it was finished.
The tomb and flame area is free. The rooftop needs a ticket, though under-18s and EU residents aged 18 to 25 go free.