Paris Weekend Break

The Champs Elysees

Considered by many to be the most beautiful avenue in the world, the Champs Elysees is a 2 kilometer long avenue that connects the "Place de la Concorde" with the "Place Charles de Gaulle" (the meeting point of 12 streets in Paris).

The Champs Elysees did not exist untill the early seventeenth century when formal gardens and tree planting started the formation of what would ultimately evolve in to the avenue that we see today.

The year 1828 was probably the most significant in the avenue's development, as it was at this time that the avenue was adopted by the city and the addition of (gas) street lights, footpaths and fountains included.

Today the Champs Elysees comprises is a wide highway, the greater part of which is tree lined with shops, hotels, houses and palaces built along its length. Real estate values in this area are exceeded only by those of Fifth Avenue in New York and rental values can be greater than one million US dollars per 100 square metres of floor area.

Over recent years some have felt that the Champs Elysees has lost part of its unique charm, partially because of the addition of some of the less exclusive high street shopping chains.

In a move to prevent such accusations, the city now vets all retailers intending to operate on the avenue and some major chains have in fact been prevented from opening!

What to see on the Champs Elysees

The Champs Elysees and the areas around it hold a number of sightseeing attractions, all of which add to the tourist value of the avenue.

Amongst these visitor highlights are, le jardin des Champs (formal gardens), the Grand palace, the Petite palace, the Alexandre III bridge, Decouverte palace, L’arc de triomphe, the Charles de Gaulle Arch and the l’Elyees palace.

But there is also the shopping boutiques, cafes, restaurants and much more.