Landmark Europe
Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe is a giant stone arch in Paris, France. Big carved statues decorate its sides. Twelve wide streets meet around it, like the points of a star.
The Arc de Triomphe is a huge stone arch at the top of the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Napoleon ordered it in 1806, but it took 30 years to finish. It is about 50 meters high and 45 meters wide, covered in giant carvings, and under it lies France's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, with a flame that is rekindled every evening.
Commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806 after Austerlitz and designed by Jean-François Chalgrin after the Arch of Titus in Rome, the Neoclassical arch was finished under Louis-Philippe and opened on July 29, 1836. Rude's Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 adorns it; since 1921 it has covered the Unknown Soldier, whose flame has burned since 1923.
Photo: ZeusUpsistos, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover the Arc de Triomphe
The Arc de Triomphe is in Paris, a big city in France.
It is a giant arch made of stone. Lots of wide streets meet around it. You can climb steps inside it to the very top. From there, you can see far across the city.
The Arc de Triomphe stands in the middle of a huge round plaza in Paris, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, a famous wide avenue. Twelve big avenues spread out from the plaza like the points of a star, so the arch is also called the Arch of Triumph of the Star.
A triumphal arch is a monument built to celebrate victories. This one is about 50 meters high and 45 meters wide. It is covered with carvings of people and the names of battles and generals. A stairway of 284 steps leads up to a lookout on the roof.
The arch stands at the center of the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly the Place de l'Étoile, at the western end of the avenue des Champs-Élysées; the Place de la Concorde lies just over 2 km away at the eastern end. Twelve avenues radiate from the circular plaza in a star (étoile), hence its full name, Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile.
Britannica gives its size as 50 m (164 ft) high and 45 m (148 ft) wide and calls it one of the world's best-known commemorative monuments. Napoleon commissioned it to celebrate the achievements of the French armies. A stairway of 284 steps climbs to an observation deck on the roof.
- Size
- about 50 m high and 45 m wide
- Built
- 1806 to 1836
- Opened
- July 29, 1836
- Steps to the top
- 284
Thirty years to build
The emperor Napoleon wanted a giant arch.
Building began on his birthday. But it went very slowly. Napoleon lost his power long before it was done. It was finished 30 years after it was begun.
In 1806 the French emperor Napoleon I ordered the arch after his army's victory at the Battle of Austerlitz. Work began on August 15, 1806, his birthday. It went slowly. By 1810 only the foundations were done, so for his wedding that year, workers built a full-size model of the arch out of wood and painted canvas.
The architect, Jean-François Chalgrin, died in 1811. After Napoleon lost power in 1814, work almost stopped. King Louis XVIII restarted it in 1823, and the main structure was finished by 1831. King Louis-Philippe opened the finished arch on July 29, 1836.
Napoleon I commissioned the arch in 1806, after his victory at Austerlitz (1805), and construction began on August 15, 1806, his birthday. Little more than the foundation existed by 1810, when a full-scale mock-up of wood and painted canvas was raised for the ceremonial entry of his new wife, the Austrian archduchess Marie-Louise; seeing it in place, Chalgrin made small changes to his design.
Chalgrin died in 1811 with only a small part built, and work slowed further after Napoleon's abdication and the Bourbon Restoration of 1814. Louis XVIII ordered work resumed in 1823, prompted by the French invasion of Spain that restored Ferdinand VII as an absolute monarch. The basic structure stood by 1831, and Louis-Philippe opened the completed monument on July 29, 1836, thirty years after it was begun.
An arch from ancient Rome
The arch was copied from an old idea.
Long ago, people in Rome built stone arches to celebrate. The Paris arch looks a bit like them, but much bigger. A huge archway goes right through the middle.
Chalgrin's design is Neoclassical, a style that copies the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome. He took ideas from the Arch of Titus, an ancient triumphal arch in the Roman Forum, the old center of Rome.
The Paris arch has a tall archway through the middle and stands on four huge legs called pedestals. In 1810, a full-size model made of wood and painted cloth was put up on the spot. It let Chalgrin see how his design would look and make small changes before the stone arch was finished.
Chalgrin's design is Neoclassical, inspired in part by the Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum. The mass rests on four pedestals, whose facades carry the great high-relief sculpture groups, while other surfaces are inscribed with the names of hundreds of generals and battles.
The 1810 mock-up of wood and painted canvas, raised when little more than the foundations existed, served as a full-scale test: Chalgrin could judge the design in place and amend it. Inside, a stairway of 284 steps rises to the rooftop observation deck. An elevator normally runs partway up, and from there the last stretch is on foot; one level below the deck is a small museum with interactive exhibits on the arch's history.
Giant sculptures
Four giant groups of stone people decorate the arch.
One group shows people rushing off together. A figure with wings flies above them. It is the most famous carving on the arch.
Four enormous groups of sculpture decorate the four legs of the arch. They were carved between 1833 and 1836 by three sculptors: François Rude, Jean-Pierre Cortot and Antoine Etex.
The most famous is Rude's Departure of the Volunteers of 1792, often called La Marseillaise. It measures about 12.8 by 7.9 meters. It shows French volunteers setting off to defend their country, with a winged figure standing for Liberty above them. On the other side of the archway is Cortot's Triumph of Napoleon. Etex carved the other two, called Resistance and Peace.
The four high-relief groups on the pedestals were made between 1833 and 1836. François Rude's Departure of the Volunteers of 1792, popularly called La Marseillaise, about 12.8 by 7.9 m, stands on the northeast pillar. It recalls the levy of 1792, when the Legislative Assembly called nearly 200,000 men to defend France, and is crowned by a winged allegory of Liberty; the Centre des monuments nationaux notes that Rude avoided period costume to give it a universal meaning.
Also facing the Champs-Élysées, across the archway from it, Jean-Pierre Cortot's Triumph of Napoleon shows the emperor in antique dress in the year 1810. Antoine Etex's Resistance and Peace, on the side facing the avenue de la Grande-Armée, evoke the invasion of 1814 and the peace after the Treaty of Paris of 1815. Other surfaces list the names of hundreds of generals and battles.
- Sculpture groups
- 4, carved 1833 to 1836
- Sculptors
- François Rude, Jean-Pierre Cortot, Antoine Etex
- Rude's group
- about 12.8 by 7.9 m
The Unknown Soldier and the flame
Under the arch is a special grave.
It is for a soldier whose name nobody knows. He stands for all the soldiers who died in a great war. A small flame burns there. It is lit again every evening.
Beneath the arch lies France's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. He is one French soldier from the First World War whose name is not known, buried in honor of all who died in that war. His coffin arrived on November 11, 1920, and he was buried under the arch on January 28, 1921.
Since November 11, 1923, a flame has burned at the tomb, and every evening at 6:30 people rekindle it in a short ceremony. The arch is also where the July 14 military parade begins, and the Tour de France bicycle race ends nearby each year.
On November 8, 1920, the Chamber of Deputies voted unanimously to bury an Unknown Soldier at the arch rather than at the Pantheon. At Verdun, Corporal Auguste Thin chose one of eight coffins of unidentified French soldiers; the coffin reached the arch on November 11, 1920, and was buried on January 28, 1921. The official site therefore dates the tomb from 1920, Britannica from 1921.
The Flame of Remembrance, proposed by the journalist Gabriel Boissy and made by the ironworker Edgar Brandt with the architect Henri Favier, was first lit by André Maginot on November 11, 1923; it is rekindled every evening at 6:30. The coffins of figures such as Victor Hugo lay in state under the arch, the annual July 14 parade begins there, and the Tour de France ends near it.
Amazing facts
-
Before the stone arch was done, there was a pretend arch made of wood and cloth.
In 1810, workers built a full-size model of the arch out of wood and painted canvas, in honor of the arrival in Paris of Napoleon's new wife, Marie-Louise.
A full-scale mock-up of wood and painted canvas was raised in 1810 for Marie-Louise's entry into Paris, and Chalgrin amended his design after seeing it.
-
A pilot once flew a small plane right through the arch!
On August 7, 1919, the pilot Charles Godefroy flew his small biplane right through the archway.
On August 7, 1919, Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane under the arch, after circling it twice; the official site recounts it.
-
The flame under the arch is lit again every evening.
Every evening at 6:30, the flame at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is rekindled in a short ceremony.
First lit on November 11, 1923, the flame has never gone out since, and is ceremonially rekindled each evening at 6:30.
-
The Tour de France bike race ends near the arch.
Every year the Tour de France bicycle race finishes near the arch, and the July 14 parade begins there.
The Tour de France ends near the arch each year, and the July 14 military parade sets off from it.
Words to know
- triumphal arch
- a big arch built to celebrate a victory or an important event
- Neoclassical
- a style that copies the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome
- pedestal
- the solid base that a statue or column stands on
- high relief
- a carving in which the figures stand far out from the stone behind them
- memorial
- something built to help people remember a person or event
- avenue
- a wide street, often lined with trees
Discovery challenge
-
Which city is the Arc de Triomphe in?
In which city does the Arc de Triomphe stand?
Which capital's Place Charles de Gaulle holds the arch?
- Paris
- Berlin
- Rome
Show the answer
Paris
Paris! It is in France.
Paris, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.
Paris; the plaza was called the Place de l'Étoile until it was renamed for Charles de Gaulle.
-
How many years did it take to build the arch?
About how many years passed between the start of the arch and its opening?
How many years separate the first works on the arch from its opening?
- 3
- 30
- 300
Show the answer
30
Thirty years! That is a very long time.
Thirty: work began in 1806 and the arch opened in 1836.
Thirty, from August 15, 1806 to July 29, 1836, with long pauses after 1811 and 1814.
-
Who is buried under the arch?
Whose tomb lies beneath the Arc de Triomphe?
Since 1921, whose tomb has lain beneath the arch?
- A king
- The Unknown Soldier
- The architect
Show the answer
The Unknown Soldier
A soldier whose name nobody knows.
The Unknown Soldier, a French soldier from the First World War whose name is not known.
The Unknown Soldier, chosen at Verdun in November 1920 and buried on January 28, 1921.
-
How many big streets meet at the arch?
How many avenues spread out from the plaza around the arch?
How many avenues radiate from the Étoile to form its star?
- Four
- Twelve
- Fifty
Show the answer
Twelve
Twelve! They look like the points of a star.
Twelve, like the points of a star. That is why it is called the Arch of the Star.
Twelve, which gave the Place de l'Étoile and the arch's full name.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Locate the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and explain what a triumphal arch is.
- Describe why the arch took 30 years to build.
- Name the arch's famous sculpture group and the sculptors who carved it.
- Explain what the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its flame stand for.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- The arch was built to celebrate victories, and now it also holds a memorial to soldiers who died. How can a monument's meaning change over time?
- Why do you think people chose a soldier whose name was not known, instead of a famous person?
- Why might builders make a full-size model of wood and cloth before finishing a stone building?
Try at home or in class
- Build an arch from sugar cubes or blocks over a cardboard support, then remove the support and see if it stands.
- Draw a star with twelve points on paper and mark the arch in the middle, like the plaza and its avenues.
Key vocabulary: triumphal arch, Neoclassical, pedestal, high relief, memorial, avenue
Where these facts come from
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Arc de Triomphe , Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Arc de Triomphe (official site, visitor notice) , Centre des monuments nationaux
- The sculpted groups , Centre des monuments nationaux
- The Unknown Soldier , Centre des monuments nationaux
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file (public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA); see each media record)
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 27, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.