Enjoy an evening stroll on one of the most famous avenues in the world.
Stretching from the Arc de Triomphe to the Place de la Concorde, this 2km long avenue is one of the most beautiful and expensive avenues in Paris. It is flanked with luxury boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany and Mont-Blanc on one side and budget friendly H&M, C&A stores on the other. Not to miss is the famous Ladurée macaron house on this avenue. There are plenty of stylish cafés, restaurants and theatres fringing this wide and pretty street.
The metro lines have made the avenue easily accessible or may be your hotel is just at a walking distance. You are most likely to see the almost 2 centuries old, glorious Arc de Triomphe as you make your way out of the metro station; the arch is the centre of 12 avenues, so keep your map handy and make note of the metro station you will have to take to get back.
Proceed to the arch and admire this beautiful architecture adored with sculptures that speak of French history. You can then take the lift up to a small museum which contains large models of the Arch and tells its story from the time of its construction.
Now to climb the top of the arch you’ll have to take flights of steps to reach the terrace, from where you can have a panoramic view of Paris. You can look at the entire avenue des Champs Elysées from where you’re standing till the Grand Rue at Place de la Concorde. On the other side, you could zoom in with your camera to get a shot of the Eiffel from here if you’d like.
After soaking in the views of the city from up here, you can proceed to walk down the avenue towards the Place de la Concorde.
This square provides an ideal sketch of Paris. You may find the grand rue or the big wheel placed here ready to take you for a quick ride to view the city from the comfort of your seat. It is not a permanent fixture. But I recommend a ride on it when it is placed at Place de la Concorde. From up here, you can see the avenue with the arch at the end, the National Assembly building, the newly re-opened famous Hotel de Crillon, the Grand Palais, the Sacré Coeur church at a distance on the Montmartre hill, the Obelisk of Luxor (3000 years old gift from Egypt to France), and the Eiffel Tower rising behind it all.
Also if you’re a ‘Devil wears Prada’ movie fan, you’ll recognise the water fountains and this location.
Sunset time views are impressive from this pretty square.
Alternatively the same day or on another day, you could take a walk towards Avenue de Winston Churchill (near avenue Champs Elysées) and visit the Petit Palais and Grand Palais, both of of which are museums and date back to the same time period as the Eiffel Tower.
Above is a glimpse of the Petit Palais’ facade ; it has a pretty café inside to lounge alongside its even prettier garden.
If you’ve come this far, walk a little further to enjoy some cool breeze standing over the Seine river, on the bridge named Pont Alexandre III. Watching the sunset from here and the Eiffel light up to sparkle is my most favourite way to end a dreamy day in Paris.
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