Axe historique

The Axe historique, the Historical Axis, or the Voie Triomphale, is a nearly straight route through French capital Paris, passing by most of the city's important buildings and monuments.

It runs from La Bastille in the 4th arrondissement along the northern bank of the Seine at the Louvre in the 1st, along the Avenue des Champs Élysées in the 8th, ending at the Grand Arch of La Défense, in the city's northwestern outskirts.

Understand
The Champs Élysées was created in the 17th century. It has been extended westwards through the Avenue de la Grande Armée, and the Avenue Charles De Gaulle, to the skyscraper complex in La Défense, commissioned in the 1950s.

Go
The axis is in total 10 km long, from La Bastille to La Défense. For travellers who want to complete the whole itinerary, a bicycle or a scooter would be useful. Most of the landmarks are within the 4.5 km between Hôtel de Ville and Place Charles de Gaulle; walkable within 1-2 hours, depending on pace.

Metro Line 1 follows the whole axis from the Bastille to La Défense.

While the route can be done by car, sightseeing by car in Paris is discouraged.

See the district articles for complete information on the following attractions:

4th arrondissement
The 4th arrondissement contains many of Paris' oldest buildings. As there is not much left to see of la Bastille, the Hôtel de Ville is a good place to start.























1st arrondissement
Through the 1st arrondissement, travellers can follow La Seine, or La Rue de Rivoli, which run on either side of Le Louvre, and the Jardin des Tuileries to Place de la Concorde.





































8th arrondissement
The legendary Avenue des Champs Élysées stretches from the Place de la Concorde to the Place Charles de Gaulle, through the 8th arrondissement. The road is dominated by flagship fashion stores and fine diners.


 * At the east end of the Champs-Elysées is, the largest square in Paris with fantastic vistas in every direction. It was in this square (then called la Place de la Revolution) that the French King Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and many others were guillotined during the Terror. The large Egyptian obelisk in the centre of the Place de la Concorde was brought from the Temple of Luxor.





























16th and 17 arrondissements
The Avenue de la Grande Armée and the Avenue Charles De Gaulle make up the border between the 16th and 17th arrondissements. While monuments and institutional buildings are fewer here, this leg of the journey is typical to the Haussmann Renovation.





La Défense








There are over 60 works of art displayed in the open air throughout La Defense, interspersed within public spaces and freely accessible, and authored by some of the biggest names in modern art.
 * Le pouce, a giant statue of a thumb by Cesar Baldaccini, stands between the CNIT and the Grande Arche
 * The abstract Spider by Alexander Calder simply cannot be missed on the Esplanade
 * The Bright Trees by Vassilakis Takis visually close the Esplanade



Go next
There are many other attractions in Paris and environs that do not form part of the axis.

The Eiffel Tower is far from the axis, but is well visible from the eastern part of the route.