Mug Shot — «Paris II - Arc de Triomphe»

City: Paris Country: France Edition: 2008 Icon Edition Belongs to: 292 users (23 trading, 96 seeking)

Paris is the capital and largest city of France. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region. As of January 2008 the city of Paris, within its administrative limits largely unchanged since 1860, has an estimated population of 2,2 mln and a metropolitan population of 12 mln, and is one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. Paris was the largest city in the Western world for about 1,000 years, prior to the 19th century, and the largest in the entire world between the 16th and 19th centuries. Paris is today one of the world's leading business and cultural centres, and its influences in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to its status as one of the world's major global cities. It hosts the headquarters of many international organizations such as UNESCO, the OECD, the International Chamber of Commerce or the European Space Agency. Paris is considered one of the greenest and most liveable cities in Europe. It is also one of the most expensive. Paris and the Paris Region produce more than a quarter of the gross domestic product of France. According to 2008 estimates, the Paris agglomeration is Europe's biggest or second biggest city economy and the sixth largest in the world. The Paris region is the first in Europe in terms of research and development capability and expenditure and through its 17 universities and 55 grandes écoles has the highest concentration of higher education students in the European Union. With about 42 million tourists annually in the city and its suburbs, Paris is the most visited city in the world. The city and its region contain 3,800 historical monuments and four UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. It should not be confused with a smaller arch, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, which stands west of the Louvre. The Arc de Triomphe honours those who fought and died for France in the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars, with the names of all French victories and generals inscribed on its inner and outer surfaces. Beneath its vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. The Arc de Triomphe is the linchpin of the Axe historique – a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which runs from the courtyard of the Louvre to the Grande Arche de la Défense. The monument was designed by Jean Chalgrin in 1806 and its iconographic program pits heroically nude French youths against bearded Germanic warriors in chain mail. It set the tone for public monuments with triumphant patriotic messages. The monument stands 50 metres in height, 45 m wide and 22 m deep. Its design was inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Arc de Triomphe is built on such a large scale that, three weeks after the Paris victory parade in 1919 Charles Godefroy flew his Nieuport biplane through it, with the event captured on newsreel.

edited by mobydick74
photo by lucky robles

  France, Paris

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