Champs Elysées (avenue)

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The Avenue des Champs Elysées is considered to be the most beautiful avenue in the world. Linking Place de la Concorde with the Arc de Triomphe, it makes for a grandiose sight, a centre of luxury commerce and place of entertainment. It was built in the 17th Century by Le Nôtre (the head gardener at Versailles) to provide a promenade for the king, but it was not until the Second Empire that the area would become a safe place and full of life. Accommodating restaurants, circuses and balls, it was the fashionable place to be in the Belle Epoque (a period of gracious living and security for the well-to-do, ended by the First World War). Today, the avenue is still very frequented and the most prestigious brands and labels are on display in the shop windows. The avenue is also a public gathering place, for instance during the French Public Holiday (military parade of the 14th of July) or for important political or sporting events. The lower part, situated on former marshland, is made up of gardens housing pavilions which today are restaurants and theatres. From the Champs Elysées roundabout, the built-up part of the avenue starts, where one finds shops, restaurants and nightclubs. The Champs Elysées constitutes that part of a 7 kms stretch of main road called the "Voie Royale", which links La Cour Napoléon du Louvre with La Défense.

Further information:
Who would imagine that the most beautiful avenue in the world, so well-known, was originally nothing more than an area of marshland. It was at the behest of Marie de Médicis, who in 1616 had trees planted there, that the path become the Queen's walkway. In 1626, she had the layout of the route improved, in direct line with the Tuileries to form what one would come to call La Voie Triomphale (The Triumphal Way). In 1709, the first Champs-Elysées appeared, taken from the name of a promenade for the king which went from the present-day pathway of the Jardin des Tuileries, designed by Le Nôtre, to the Champs-Elysées roundabout. The road itself was extended in 1724 by the Duc d'Antin up to l'Etoile, then up to the Neuilly bridge by the Marquis of Marigny. The latter summoned Gabrielle to beautify the avenue of the Champs-Elysées which, at the time, only amounted to six large properties ! A little aside: the route these days leads up to la Défense to create a road of 7 kms long in total, with the Tuileries, Concorde and the Arc de Triomphe all in sight. The Champs-Elysées strictly speaking, have always been a great success: in the 18th Century, one went there for entertainment, eating and dancing. At the time, green areas were still widespread: they provided pleasant daytime walks, but once people had departed in the evening, these areas had the reputation of being somewhat dangerous.

Under the Directorate, the place was one where acrobats and bear tamers met ! From the time of the First Empire, began the tradition of organising military parades there. Having become property of the state in 1828, it became a large and beautiful avenue with pavements, fountains and gaslamps for lighting. People started to move in to live there, and during the Second Empire, it was the place "to be seen." Numerous were the groups of people who strutted about there before returning to the Bois de Boulogne. The top of the avenue, between the Arc de Triomphe and the roundabout, has become a great shopping centre: many boutiques (not always luxury), banks, bars and restaurants. Located at number 78, are the Arcades du Lido (the famous cabaret club being in the basement). The construction of these arcades was commissioned by Léonard Rosental who had them built in 1924 onto a hotel of which he had become the owner. The inauguration in 1926, revealed one of the most luxurious venues: a Lalique fountain, Jacopazzi glassware, etc., all of this having been created in a most sophisticated art deco style. Numerous lounges with decor in the style of a "passenger ship" are to be found throughout the arcades. It is certainly the only passageway in the avenue worth seeing, as the others (numbers 26, 52, 66 et 74) are of no real interest. At number 56, is the Virgin megastore, at 99, is Fouquet's restaurant. At the location of the HSBC bank, number 103, was the former Elysée Palace. The area at the bottom of the avenue, between the roundabout and la Concorde is a total contrast: there are gardens and pavilions, the Ledoyen restaurant, l'Espace Cardin, the former palace of the Universal Exhibition of 1900; the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais are a little further on.

Things to see:
The gardens
The Gabriel Pavilion
The shops
The famous Fouquet's
The nightclubs, including The Queen
The avenue's entertainment and events

Things to do
Stroll about the Champs Elysées and go shopping
Visit one of the exhibitions at the Grand Palais
Visit the marché aux timbres (Stamp Market) which is open on certain days
Have a drink at one of the many café terraces on the avenue

Nearby
The Grand Palais
The Petit Palais
The Arc de Triomphe
La place de la Concorde

Champs Elysées (avenue) Informations:

Champs Elysées (avenue) Address: avenue Champs Elysées, Paris, France
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