Champs-Élysées from Arc de Triomphe

first      previous      next      last     

This is the avenue des Champs-Élysées as it appears from the top of the Arc de Triomphe, which is at the northwest end of the avenue. You can see the entire length of the avenue in this photograph, from its western end at the base of the Arc to its eastern extremity on the place de la Concorde.

It's hard to see them in these small Web photos, but there are quite a few monuments visible in this picture. In the foreground is the commercial half of the avenue, with many stores, shopping malls, theaters, and restaurants. As you look up the avenue (you are looking east southeast, incidentally), you can see the transition to parkland at about the half-way point of the avenue. Beyond that, you can see the Obelisk on the place de la Concorde. Behind that are the Tuileries Gardens (you can see the sandy, broad walking path between the trees). Beyond the gardens are the very large wings of the Louvre Museum.

Along the skyline are more interesting sights, although they aren't really very visible in this tiny version of the photograph (the original photo is 200 times larger!). From left to right, I see the Church of Saint Eustache, the Bourse du Commerce (commodities exchange), the Pompidou Center (look for the odd-looking blue roof), the rue de Rivoli, the Hôtel de Ville, Notre-Dame Cathedral, the Bibliothèque Mitterrand, the Grand Palais, the Institut de France, the Orsay Museum, and the University of Pierre and Marie Curie. (I have the original image in front of me, which helps!)

Photographed in the spring of 2002.