Google Sightseeing takes you on tour of the world as seen from satellite, using the free Google Earth program, or Google Maps in your web browser. Each weekday your guides James and Alex present new weird and wonderful sights as suggested by readers.

The editors: James & Alex

Arc de Triomphe

Friday, 24th June 2005 by James

Arc de Triomphe at the centre of some eternally busy roads in Paris (more info).

Arc de Triomphe

Thanks: Bill Kendrick, nixx, Thomas, Keith, Nels N Nelson, gIMpSTa, Chris Granger, Don Campbell, Jim L., ringo, Donald P., numlok, Jason Hale

17 Responses to 'Arc de Triomphe'

  1. 1. Sebastian Nebel says:

    If you follow Champs Élysées to the east you’ll end up on the Placemark: Place de la Concorde / Google Earth, with a big arabic obelisque in the centre, and then Placemark: Jardin des Tuileries / Google Earth and, finally, the Louvre, with the famous Placemark: glass pyramid / Google Earth.

    Following the Champs Élysées to the west, across the Seinne, you’ll find La Défense, kind of the Manhatten of Paris. Well, sorta kind of.

    There’s a lot more cool stuff to be found in Paris, though, so keep your eyes open and your mouse busy!

  2. 2. Bene says:

    the place with the most f up traffic in the world. there aren’t lains, there’s just pure chaos

  3. 3. Safalra says:

    Close up this looks like one of those SimCities where someone’s made it really symmetrical to look nice but totally forgot about traffic management…

  4. 4. Gaz says:

    GTA2 Paris?

  5. 5. gIMpSTa says:

    I bet a lot of tourist get trapped in that rotary (that’s all I can think of when I see it anyway). I count about 8 “lanes” wide? Maybe more? That’s just insane.

  6. 6. ROBERT says:

    Lanes Gimpsta? There aint no lanes.

  7. 7. Arjan says:

    There’s a passageway underneath the road for pedestrians who like to get to the otherside without dying.

  8. 8. Peter says:

    “There’s a passageway underneath the road for pedestrians who like to get to the otherside without dying.”

    I thought you _had_ to die to get to the “otherside” :)

  9. 9. Luke says:

    I have been there and it is pure madness. There are twelve lanes that you can leave and exit through. (If you are on the ground you can see they form a nice litte star) If you are actually at the arc (I was there a few months ago) it is pure madness. There are no lanes. As well, the government could fix this problem and have tried but to much protest from the Parisians. Similarly you will only find one skyscraper in main Paris,

    As well, the southeast of the Arc you will find Placemark: Les Invalides / Google Earth which is where Napoleon is burried. As well there is a really nice WWI and WWII museum there which is really interesting. Directly across from Invalides is the Rodin Museum with the famous “The Thinker” statue. You can just make it out as a tiny dot but it is located to the right of the giant building and is the top left square of that small building to the right.

  10. 10. Luke says:

    I forgot to mention, Placemark: Here / Google Earth is that one skyscraper. You won’t see anything else in central Paris, but once you leave that area and go to the outskirts, that is where the skyscrapers are.

  11. 11. beth says:

    Placemark: here / Google Earth is the correct link for la Tour Montparnasse that Luke speaks of

  12. 12. TD says:

    What is this on the west side of Paris?
    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    Must be something historical, ’cause they’ve built this crazy long tunnel for a highway and a train to go underneath it. All I can find on maps is “Saint Germane En Laye”. What is the history here?

    Here is Versailles
    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

  13. 13. gIMpSTa says:

    Robert thats why i put it in qoutes. I was counting how many lanes it COULD be.

  14. 14. Jean-Marc says:

    to TD : It is Saint Germain en Laye castle.

    It was build in 1122 and used (and transformed) by french kings until the revolution

    Although les reknowed than Versailles, Saint Germain en Laye is closer from Paris (thus was more convenient).

    About the “Place de l’étoile”, well, you got to got used to it.
    There is nothing to do to make it better.
    It is too large and 12 large avenues are connected to it.

    To Salfara : There was no motorized traffic when it was designed.

  15. 15. The Parisian says:

    That’s fun you can see my house on the Montparnasse tower shot, and my girlfriends on Saint Germain en Laye’s one (not Germane! :) ).
    The place de l’étoile is the most fun place ever to drive a scooter, I love it! I althought hate it since doing a course of road management abroad it was given as an exemple of the worst mess ever in the world, and people kinf of made fun of me because of it! :D
    Note; there are lane on the place de l’étoile, but there are in the shape of star in order to make the mess even bigger! It is such a mess that whatever happens on it the responsability will be equally shared by both drivers.

  16. 16. james says:

    my friend just came back from Paris, and the tour guide told here that no car insurance in the world will cover an accident at that round about.
    There is a car accident every 12 mins

  17. 17. Kordt says:

    And here is the Eiffel Tower:

    Placemark: Google Maps / Google Earth

    You can identify it by its enormous shadow!

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