(Last Update: 07.06.2025) When I first came to Paris as a tourist years ago, the thing I wanted to do most, apart from enjoying the streets of Paris and dreaming of participating in life, was Defenselocated in and La Grande Arche de la Defense It was to see this huge structure called. Even for me to see this place Eiffel Towerfrom Louvre MuseumIt was even more important than the Mona Lisa in . Okay but why?
Let me explain it this way; Of course, each person's perspective on life, their expectations, their influences, and the things that interest them are very different from each other. Years ago, in 1989, when I first saw the photograph of this building, I was struck by something I didn't know why. distorted, I made up my mind to see this place one day.
Of course, there are many beautiful and impressive buildings, monuments, parks, gardens, streets, many things in Paris. Most of these were in the catalogs and of course they attracted my attention, but when I saw the Grande Arche de la Défense, that's what I felt when looking at that photo. spaciousness I never forgot the feeling.
Then years passed and one day my way as a tourist He fell in Paris. My companion Devrim, naturally Classic Paris before taking a tour Eiffel Towerof, Triumphal arch, Champs Elysées, Louvre Museumof, Montmartre'I, Notre Dame CathedralHe was dying to show me, and he was right, but every morning when we woke up, he said,We will see the Grande Arche today, right?" I asked desperately and he said "What will you do after seeing the Grande Arche without seeing the Eiffel and Notre Dame?" he was keeping me busy by asking 🙂
back then Paris metro If I had figured it out, I would have woken up early one morning and walked around on my own, but it was a time when I had just gone abroad and I must admit that I did not have the courage to do so; At that time, there was no Paris.Net so we could find our way easily :)
The last day of our trip, we left the hotel, our suitcases in our hands. Charles de Gaulle AirportWe will go to . I'm one last chancePlease, let's take a look here, please?" I looked at him with pathetic eyes. The little boy must have believed that I was serious then, so he accepted helplessly and we jumped in with our suitcases in our hands. RER-AWe first went to the hall of La Défense, then to the square and there was this exquisite building in front of me...
I can't tell you what I felt at that moment. A giant building, pure white, cube-shaped, empty in the middle. What a feeling of relief I feel, but how it's raining. I said that I ran out to the square, because we had to catch the plane, I hurriedly took a photo and then walked back. RERI remember we returned to . And I thought to myself, "Please, please come here again and watch it longer and to my heart's content." what I said...
Now howsecret"If I did, then life played such a game; I have now moved into a house in Paris, a 10-minute walk from La Grande Arche de La Défense, and have seen this structure almost every day for ten years; I never got tired of seeing it, because every time I saw it, I felt the same feeling as when I first saw it...
I have such oddities, for example, once upon a time EUR in Rome I was very curious about the building, it was very meaningful to me, but unfortunately, when I saw it years later, the feelings I felt were not like that, it seemed very bland. So these kinds of stories may not always have a happy ending :)
This is my story, let's come to the story of La Grande Arche de La Défense... 1950from 's Defense I mentioned that the district was designed as the new and contemporary business center of Paris. In this context, the main square project and the skyscrapers built around it are as important as the main square of Paris. Louvre Museum, Champs Elysées ve Triumphal arch Located at the last point reached by the road extending in the direction of Defenseto, in this exact direction a modern plug was intended to be built and this arch Paris's window to the world accepted as.
The white roof system in the middle represents clouds…Built in 1989 to commemorate the bicentennial of the French Revolution, it is 110 meters high. It is as if the middle of this cube-shaped white structure has been completely removed, creating a wonderful feeling of spaciousness.
Maybe when you look at it from a distance, you cannot really grasp the enormity of the building, but when you come to the stairs and look up, you understand its size. Sitting on those stairs, climbing the stairs and walking inside (actually still outside) the building is incredibly enjoyable.
When you climb the stairs and look back at Paris from the rest of the square, it's right in front of you. Triumphal archand beyond that Louvre Museum You see the sides. When you look here from that side anyway, Triumphal archThe Grande Arche appears just behind (grandarch or ggandagş).
It is also a pleasure to go to the back of the Grande Arche and especially to watch the sunset from there. If you want to walk around the building, this time you will see that the side walls are not white, but mirrored glass, and you will be transported to another dimension. It is especially enjoyable to watch the reflection of the sky in these mirrors.
Triumphal archmodern version ofI don't know what this arch, which we can describe as a twentieth century interpretation, means to you, but it is extremely valuable and special to me. And I was so lucky that I started my first career in Paris. Language Course It was right next to this building! During the lesson, I never neglected to look at the Grande Arche from the window, visualize the process leading up to that day, remember it with a smile, dream and be thankful for today.
Here's some good news: The observation deck on the top floor of La Grande Arche de La Défense is open to visitors. For some unknown reason, I never found the opportunity to go up to this terrace and watch Paris from here :)
If modern architecture interests you or if what I told you is interesting to you, if you come to Paris for 4 days or more, I can recommend you to spend 2-3 hours here. Because there are other things to see around.
The shopping center is just on your left. The Four Times and on your right CNIT It's an ocean in itself. How to get here and what to do nearby Paris La Defense You can find all the details in my article.
Pleasant trips, pleasant discoveries.
Address: 1 Forecourt of La Defense
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2 Comments
First of all, thank you very much for creating this blog site about my Paris trip. Thanks to you, I have learned a lot and I will continue to follow your site. I'm not normally one to write comments, but I wanted to write a comment and congratulate you because I found you very successful. Like you, I was strangely impressed when I first saw the Grande Arche and I want to see it. I hope nothing goes wrong during my trip and I can come here. In fact, I have put it among my first plans and plan to come here before other places :) Your article about the Grande Arche was sincere and I read it with great pleasure. I wish you success in your blog and career life. Hope
First of all, thank you very much for your valuable comment. If you only knew how much power these nice comments give to bloggers... Even if you are now sure that what you write is useful to someone, such a nice message makes your day even more beautiful; That's why it's so valuable...
I hope you have a wonderful holiday in Paris, and that you will remember me and this article with a smile on the day you come to see the Grande Arche. The renovation of the building is still continuing. While I am writing this answer, the work on the upper parts has been completed, the renovation of the stairs continues, I hope it will be completed by the time you arrive.
Everything you get your heart desires,
Happy Days.