Inspired by Rome's Arch of Titus, this colossal, 164-foot triumphal arch was planned by Napoléon -- who liked to consider himself the heir to the Roman emperors -- to celebrate his military successes. Unfortunately, Napoléon's strategic and architectural visions were not entirely on the same plane, and the Arc de Triomphe proved something of an embarrassment: although the emperor wanted the monument completed in time for an 1810 parade in honor of his new bride, Marie-Louise, the arch was still only a few feet high, and a dummy arch of painted canvas was strung up to save face. Empires come and go, but Napoléon's had been gone for more than 20 years before the Arc de Triomphe was finally finished, in 1836.

The Arc de Triomphe is known for its magnificent sculptures by François Rude, including The Departure of the Volunteers in 1792, better known as La Marseillaise, to the right of the arch when viewed from the Champs-Elysées. Names of Napoléon's generals are inscribed on the stone facades -- the underlined names identify the hallowed figures who fell in battle.

The traffic circle around the Arc is named for Charles de Gaulle, but it's known to Parisians as "L'Etoile," or the Star -- a reference to the streets that fan out from it.

Climb the stairs to the top of the arch and you can see the star effect of the 12 radiating avenues and the vista down the Champs-Elysées towards place de la Concorde and the distant Louvre.

There is a small museum halfway up the arch, devoted to its history.

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