National Monuments: Arc de Triomphe, Paris

Governed by the Ministry of Culture, the Centre des monuments nationaux conserves and manages 100 national monuments in France, which welcome 9.2 million visitors per year. One of the most famous is the Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, a neoclassical arch that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle at the end of the Champs-Elysées. It was built to honour France’s fallen patriots from the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars and today equally represents the lost soldiers of World War 1, marked by the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which lies beneath it.

Visitors can climb an internal stone staircase to the top of the arch for unbeatable vistas of Paris down the twelve avenues that lead from the Place Charles de Gaulle.Video courtesy of Emmanuelle Pardini, Centre des monuments nationaux