Day 183~"Avenue des Champs-Elysees!"

 

Of course, you can't go to Paris, France and NOT capture a picture of this famous tree-lined street, the Avenue des Champs-Elysees!

A little history~The Champs-Elysees was originally fields and market gardens, until 1616, when Marie de Medici decided to extend the garden axis of the Palais des Tuileries with an avenue of trees. By the late 1700s, the Champs-Elysees had become a fashionable avenue and the trees on either side had thickened enough to be given formal rectangular glades, known as cabinets de verdure.

At the end of the gardens is the famous Arc de Triomphe~The Arc de Triomphe is a famous monument in Paris that honours those who fought for France, in particular, during the Napoleonic Wars and it also includes the tomb of the unknown soldier. The monument is the second largest triumphal arch in existence, and its design was originally inspired by the Roman Arch of Titus. The Tour de France ends every year here at this famous sight.