Champs-Élysées
Recognized around the world and comparable to Fifth Avenue in New York City, the Champs-Élysées in Paris is an avenue of distinction. The name comes from Greek mythology, the Élysian Fields, a place of the blessed, or where heroes come to relax. Visitors stroll this famous promenade, known as la plus belle avenue du monde, lined with shops, restaurants, cafes, nightclubs, and theaters, which stretches one and a quarter mile through the 8th district of the city. Running east to west from the Place de la Concorde to the Place Charles de Gaulle, the avenue is bordered with formal gardens, fountains, and historic buildings of neoclassical architecture.
One finds Marigny Square and Theater, and the Grand Palais and Petit Palais on the Avenue Winston Churchill just off the southern end of the Champs-Élysées. The Grand Palais, originally built as an exhibition hall for the 1900 World’s Fair in Paris, is the largest glass and iron structure in the world. Closed in 1993 for restoration, it reopened on the 17th and 18th of September 2005 for the French National Heritage Weekend. Cultural events at the hall feature antique and car shows, high fashion, and contemporary art. The Petit Palais, recently renovated at a cost of $84 million, is a beautiful museum with an interior of marble columns and walls, mosaic floors, and fresco ceilings. Large glass doors, framed with gilded wrought iron, form the entrance to the building that surrounds a garden in the center. The earliest contributions to the museum consisted of over 20,000 works of art from the collections of Auguste and Eugene Dutuit. Officially known as the Palais des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris, it houses a permanent collection of ancient Greek to WWI art and includes Rembrandt, Delacroix, Renoir, and Cézanne. At the opposite end of the Champs-Elysees is the Elysee Palace, located on the du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, along with the U.S. and other embassies. The Elysee, heavily guarded behind high walls and not open to the public, has been the residence of French presidents since 1873.
The area of fields and market gardens lay isolated from the city until 1616 when Marie de Medici directed the creation of a tree-lined path leading east from the Tuileries. The Gardens were formally extended in Le Notre’s design in 1667 to become the Grand Allée du Roule. Although the Allée was a fashionable avenue, there were few buildings and it remained somewhat remote from the city until early in the 18th century when it was extended to the Arc de Triomphe. Architect Hittorf added gas lighting, fountains, and sidewalks, along with his redesign of the Place de la Concorde in 1838. The avenue continued to attract more and more businesses and visitors with the inclusion of a Paris metro station at the Place de l’Etoile. Further modernization by Bernard Huet in 1994 included pedestrian zones and an underground parking lot, which eliminated much of the on street parking.
To own or rent a place on the avenue is definitely a symbol of wealth and status. Phenomenal prices are paid, with real estate priced at over a million dollars for 1,000 square feet of space. Few people can afford to actually live here, so offices occupy many of the upper stories of buildings along the avenue. Although an effort has been made by the French government to limit large department store chains, visitors will find such stores as the Gap, Disney, Benetton, and Virgin Megastore. If you can afford the prices, there are other upscale establishments here including Adidas and Louis Vuitton, a Paris tradition for years. Designer and specialty shops, restaurants, and other retail establishments are identified with large numbers over their entrances, which add to the exclusive address of restaurants such as Fouquet, Laduree tearoom, Chez Clément, Batifol, and Bistro de la Gare. Paris is well known for its beauty and beauty products, and certainly one should indulge in a visit to such luxury shops as Guerlain, Yves Rocher, and Charles Jourdan.
The Champs-Élysées is indeed a shopping paradise, but perhaps it is just as famous for its military parades, which have included the 1940 parade of German troops through Paris and the victory parade of French and American troops at the time of France’s Liberation in 1944. Visitors and residents enjoy the holiday season with extravagant New Year’s Eve celebrations, as well as the annual military parade on Bastille Day, 14th of July.
Some of the early distinction of the Champs-Élysées has given way to automobile showrooms, mini-arcades, airline offices, and the glitz of neon lights. The chestnut trees and garden pathways somehow fail to muffle the busy sounds of this grand city, and yet, no visit to Paris would be complete without a stroll along one of the most prestigious avenues in the world.
Grand Palais: Thursday – Monday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m, Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Admission: Ten to eleven euros.
Petit Palais: Tuesday – Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission: Free to the permanent collections. Four to nine euros for temporary collection. Wheelchair accessible.