The Arc de Triomphe is the largest triumphal arch in the world standing at over 160 feet high and 144 feet wide. It is fascinating and beautiful, but trying to reach it by crossing the square could mean certain death; the square is the busiest round a bout in the city, so take the underground passage, walk the extra few feet, and live to see the view of the city from the top.

Napoleon commissioned the Arc in 1806 as a commemorative of his victorious Grand Armee, but it wasn't until 1836 that the Arc was completed, under the reign of Louis-Philppe. For years later Napoleon would pass through the Arc on his final journey to his tomb at hotel des Invaildes from St. Helena. Arc de Triomphe remains as the focal point for state funerals today, and houses the eternal flame for the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Since Napoleon, the most famous funeral ever to pass through the Arc was probably Victor Hugo in 1885. Later Ferdinand Foch, the commander of the allied forces during WWI passed through the Arc in 1929. The Arc has witnessed much pain in Paris; German troops marched under it when taking Paris, and a 1940 newsreel shows the French sobbing as Nazi storm troopers passed through. However, four years later the Arc would witness one of the happiest days in Paris history, the liberation of Paris parade.