Big archway

Today we walked up the Champ-Elysees, 2 kilometres of some of the most expensive real estate in Europe. Lined with some very exclusive shops and restaurants, it’s a popular spot for shopping (although who can afford the prices I’m not sure).

We did stop for crepes at a café along the way and managed to escape with some money in our wallets. At the very end of the street is the Arc de Triomphe – a massive archway erected to commemorate the battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Like the Eiffel Tower, the lack of windows makes it hard to judge the scale of it until you are much closer. Its large enough to fly a biplane through (as they did in 1919) and certainly an impressive sight. The arch is on an unmarked 3 lane round-about where 12 roads meet (the traffic is insane) so we took the tunnel under the roads. You can actually go inside the monument but we opted to simply walk around the outside.