The beauty of central Paris is in its historic preservation, but what to do when the city needs many new buildings for business and government offices?

La Grande Arche de la Défense (1989) and La Défense business district are one answer: build all the tall structures you want to the west of the historic center.

La Grande Arche certainly lives up to its name: a huge cube 110 meters (351 feet) high, wide and deep weighing 300,000 metric tons. It is actually a pair of slab office buildings joined at the top and situated almost directly in line with, and to the west of, Napoleon's historic Arc de Triomphe (map).

For one of those spectacular Paris panoramas, pay the moderate fee to take the elevator/lift to the roof (toit) of La Grande Arche. The glass lift is an experience in itself. (The roof was closed to visitors in 2010, but opened again in summer 2017.)

On the roof, all of Paris is spread out for you. The view straight down the broad boulevard to the Arc de Triomphe is the most satisfying:

View from the top of the Grande Arche toward the Arc de Triomphe.

The Métro (Line 1 to La Défense) or RER A-1 will take you right to La Grande Arche. You ascend to a vast plaza surrounded by ultramodern buildings of all shapes and sizes, with crowds of people marching purposefully here and there.

At lunchtime in fair weather, many office workers and visitors sit on the spacious staircase of La Grande Arche to eat their lunch and enjoy the sun. (Take-away sandwiches and other foods are available in shops beneath the plaza.)

Enjoying the sun and the view on the steps of the Grande Arche...

Toit de la Grande Arche

Grande Arche de la Défense
92044 Paris La Défense 
Tel.. +33 (0) 1 40 90 52 20
Métro: Line 1 to La Défense
RER: Line A1 to La Défense

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