Arc de Triomphe
The only place from which you see all twelve avenues radiate, and the axis running to La Défense.
Duration
1 hr – 1 hr 30 min
Best time
An hour before dark
Open
Every day
Entry price
16 EUR
Napoleon commissioned it in 1806 after Austerlitz; it was finished in 1836 under Louis-Philippe, and Napoleon only passed under it dead, when his ashes were returned in 1840. Fifty metres high, with the names of six hundred and sixty generals carved under the vaults.
The tomb of the Unknown Soldier has been beneath the arch since 1921, and its flame is rekindled every evening at half past six, without a break since 1923. The terrace is the only place from which you see the twelve avenues radiating out, and the historic axis from the Louvre to La Défense.
Getting there
Metro Charles de Gaulle - Étoile, lines 1, 2 and 6, or RER A. Access is through the underpass at the top of the Champs-Élysées.
What the price covers
full rate, terrace access
What to bring
- Walking shoes
Rules on site
The arch is only reached by the underpass: crossing the roundabout on foot is banned and dangerous. The climb is two hundred and eighty-four spiral steps, the lift being reserved for those with reduced mobility.
Checked on 28 August 2026 at The Better Vacation — Arc de Triomphe tickets 2026
Other places in Paris
- Eiffel TowerThree hundred metres of wrought iron, raised in two years for an exhibition and never taken down.
- Louvre MuseumThirty-five thousand works on display, and Europe's largest palace to hold them.
- Sacré-Cœur BasilicaStone that whitens in the rain, at the top of the hill, with all of Paris below the steps.