Paris Day Four: Arc de Triomphe

By Sunday we were in desperate need of sleep, so we got up late, had breakfast in the hotel lobby and walked up to the Arc de Triomphe.

The morning was cloudy, but dry, and the view from the top was totally worth climbing the 284 steps!

Tree-lined streets jut out in every direction from it...

We didn't know there was a "new" part of Paris until we got up there. :) 

The Arc was built between 1806 and 1836. It honors those who fought in the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars.

 There is a WWI memorial statue inside, as well as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the center. It was placed there, along with the eternal flame, in 1920.

It is now a rallying point of French troops parading after a military success and the annual Bastille Day parade. Allied troops marched down the Champs Elysees in 1944 and 1945. All parades, including Hitler, avoided marching through the arch in respect of the tomb.

However, in 1919, Charles Godefroy flew his biplane under the arch. Wow!

Then we hopped on the Big Red Bus tour and made our way all through the city until we reached the Musee d’Orsay.