Napoleon Bonaparte was Emperor of France between 1796 and 1815.

He started his career as a private in the army and quickly rose through the ranks because of his intelligence and ability to command. His men greatly respected his leadership and his decisions.

It was Emperor Napoleon who wanted to construct a monument to commemorate his victorious armies and the conquests of France during his reign.

As a General, Napoleon led the French army against most of the other countries in Europe. When he became Emperor of France, he continued to lead his armies successfully in Europe and in Egypt, winning nearly every battle.

The picture on the left shows Emperor Napoleon at his coronation.

Napoleon's run of luck came to an end after his misjudged invasion of Russia in 1812. This was a failure and hundreds of thousands of French soldiers died in the cold. During his last battle, at Waterloo in 1815, he was captured by British and Prussian (German) allies. He was exiled to a lonely island, St Helena, in the South Atlantic where he died a sad, solitary man, a few years later.

Napoleon Bonparte was a very successful soldier-Emperor who conquered most of Europe during the early nineteenth century.

He considered how he could construct a monument which would help people to remember, not only him, but also the conquests his armies had achieved and their bravery in the battles that they had fought. During his travels, Napoleon had seen and admired the triumphal arches built by the Romans eighteen hundred years before. These Roman triumphal arches were constructed for victorious Roman Emperors who paraded through the arch with all their troops, captives and spoils of war after successful campaigns.

Napoleon rather liked this idea. He oversaw the design and ordered the Arch to be built in 1806. It was designed to be a landmark in the capital city. It was meant to be the part of the Triumphal way from Versailles into Paris, leading through to the Louvre, which was the ancient palace of the French kings. But before it had risen many metres above ground level, the architect died (in 1811).

This, combined with Napoleon's military failures in his last few years as Emperor, meant that the Arch was never completed while Napoleon was alive. He never saw his dream become a reality and was never able to use it!

The Arc de Triomphe was not completed until 1836, many years after Napoleon's death.

The Arc de Triomphe is fifty metres in height and forty-five metres in width.

To reach the viewing platform at the top, you have to climb 260 steps up a spiral staircase.

The sides are decorated with sculptures of battles. Inside the Arch are the names of the battles in which Napoleon's vistorious armies fought, and lists of his generals. (See the photo on the right).

Many people forget to look up at the roof and the internal walls of the Arc. The names that are there are of 128 victorious battles and 558 generals from Napoleon's campaigns and they cover part of the Arc de Triomphe's surface.

Beside, is a picture of the roof of the Arc de Triomphe.

Every year, there is always a big military parade from the Arc de Triomphe down the AVENUE DES CHAMPS ELYSÉES on the 14TH JULY- Bastille Day, which is the French National day. Representatives from other countries are invited to take part in the parade. The roads are closed and the French President takes the salute.

The Arc is lit up at night with the French colours and has an enormous Tricolore flying from its centre.

Around the Arc de Triomphe is the Place Charles de Gaulle. Charles de Gaulle was a hero and President of France.

Place Charles de Gaulle is a huge roundabout, many lanes wide. It used to be known as the "Place de L'Étoile", or "Star". This is because, from this roundabout, twelve avenues reach into the distance, forming an elegant twelve pointed "star". When Baron Haussmann re-designed the centre of Paris, he wanted the Arc de Triomphe to be the focus point from as many places as possible and the central destination to which the most important roads led.

The picture is taken from the top of the Arc de Triomphe and shows two of these avenues.

To reach the Arch, you need to take the subway passage under the roundabout. The roundabout has the reputation of being one of the most difficult to navigate in France because of the traffic. Insurance companies refuse to insure cars when they use this roundabout.

The Arc de Triomphe is free for every one to visit. However, if you want to climb to the top, you have to purchase a ticket. Be prepared for a long climb up the steep spiral staircase!

Everyone stops to pay respect at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is located under the Arc.

The Arc De Triomphe has sculptures and decorations all around it, on the sides, below the top platform, and on the front and back.

Most feature the woman called "Marianne" who represents the spirit of France. This one comes from one of the front panels. All the sculptures are very much bigger than life size and the artists' works are lconsidered to be masterpieces.

The panel on the left below comes from a side and represents Napoleon and his troops going into battle. The sculpture on the right below shows the departure of all the volunteers to fight the invading Prussians. This runs all the way around the top of the Arch.

The Arc de Triomphe is at the end of the best known road in Paris - the AVENUE DES CHAMPS ELYSÉES. This is a very popular place for tourists. They like to stroll down its wide footpaths under the shade of the trees.

There are pavement cafés, where you may eat and drink. There is also a McDonald's - which is very popular with the French and a "Quick" which is the French version of McDonald's.

You can go outside at the top and enjoy the view across the city. On clear days you can see about 70 or 80 km in the distance. Even on a cloudy day, the view is excellent as Paris is not a hilly city and the Arc de Triomphe is one of the highest buildings.

The picture shows what it is like at the top. There is a special fence to keep everyone safe.

When you walk around, you can see all the twelve avenues that make up the "star". Below are pictures of some of them.

You can see in this picture, and in the one above, that there is not much high rise in the city centre of Paris. This is because nearly all the buildings date from the middle of the nineteenth century, before there were lifts. Most are a maximum of six storeys. You may also have noticed that Paris is also a very flat city.

The high rise in the distance is the tower in Montparnasse which houses railway stations, shops and apartments.

This avenue leads to a modern Arch, called the Grande Arche de la Défense. It is about 5 km from the Arc de Triomphe and the road runs in a straight line in between. It forms part of the great Triumphal Way between Versailles and the Louvre (the old palace of the French kings).

The modern Arche is much higher than the Arc. It is in the modern Central Business District of Paris and you can spot all the modern high rise buildings there.