Arc de Triomphe: Paris Panoramas from Place de l'Étoile

Paris has three triumphal arches: the Arc du Carrousel at the edge of the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden, the Arc de Triomphe we're at now, and the Grande Arche in La Défense. All three sit on a single straight line, with this one at the end of the Champs-Élysées in the middle. Napoleon commissioned it to celebrate his victories in battle. Construction began under his rule, but delays, his fall from power and turbulent times meant it was completed only after he died. So when his remains returned to Paris from his place of exile, they passed through the Arc. They were laid to rest at Les Invalides, where you can still see Napoleon's tomb in the Dôme church.

The Arc stands 51 meters tall and 45 meters wide. It can look small from a distance, but up close its scale is overwhelming. The arched structure rests on four pillars and is covered in reliefs. Starting from the top: the observation deck sits at the summit, directly below it are engraved the battles Napoleon won, and below that, French troops marching off to war. On the pillars underneath, the left side shows Napoleon's army defeating the Turks and the victory at the Battle of Vienna, while the right side shows the funeral of General Marceau and the 1792 citizens' uprising.

The Arc stands in the Place de l'Étoile, now officially Place Charles de Gaulle, though it is still better known by its old name. "Étoile" means "star" in French, a nod to the way roads radiate outward from the roundabout. One of them is the Champs-Élysées. The best way to take in the star-shaped square is from the Arc's observation deck.

To reach the deck, you need to cross via an underpass at the end of the Champs-Élysées. The entrance is a little hard to find at first: it's just past the metro entrance. Once you're through the tunnel, you can buy tickets at the ticket office before the exit, and after emerging, you climb the Arc through a door in one of its pillars. From the top you can see the 12 avenues radiating from the Étoile. Follow the Champs-Élysées, the busiest, with your eyes and you'll see the obelisk on the Place de la Concorde at its end, with the Tuileries Garden and the Louvre behind it. Look the other way along the opposite avenue and you'll see La Défense and the Grande Arche, while the Eiffel Tower is also in view, making this one of the best viewpoints for taking in Paris. It stays open late, so you can see the city at night too, and watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle from up here makes a Paris trip even more special.

When you come back down, look for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the center beneath the Arc. An eternal flame burns there in memory of the soldiers who died anonymously in World War I, and ceremonies honoring the unknown soldier are held every year on July 14 and November 11. After the Arc, head for the Eiffel Tower, the perfect place to wrap up a full day in Paris.