Arc de Triomphe

The Arc de Triomphe stands at the center of Place Charles de Gaulle at the western end of the Champs-Elysees in Paris, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to honor the armies of the French Republic and Empire and designed by the architect Jean Chalgrin. Construction was repeatedly delayed by political upheaval and Napoleon's own fall, and the monument was not completed until 1836, fifteen years after his death. Standing about 50 meters tall and 45 meters wide, its stone surfaces are carved with reliefs and the names of French victories and generals, and since 1921 it has sheltered the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from the First World War beneath its arch, marked by an eternal flame rekindled each evening.