Most people never go there if they are not on business. Most visitors don't even know what it is unless they asked someone "what is that mess in the distance behind the Arc de Triomphe?"

Frankly, for somebody with a little extra time (1 or 2 hours is enough), I think it's worth taking a closer look. And did you know that the shopping mall is open every Sunday?

Here is my little report about it all: http://tinyurl.com/2b8ztrj

Hi K,

Good report. Thanks for sharing.

This is a project that I have always wished they had not undertaken.

A shantytown has so much more quaint charm.

>There is a lot of monumental sculpture at La Défense, like this Miro, or the Calder across the way.<

I would trade both of them for the carousel.

>The old statue of "La Défense Nationale" has been maintained at its original location. It looks kind of silly, ............<

Compared to the huge thumb?

>You can see the Eiffel Tower from here.<

Is there anywhere in Paris from where you cannot see the ET?
(Another eyesore that should have been taken down a hundred years ago.)

Ira, so you think the offices and corporate headquarters should have been built inside Paris?

Kerouc - thanks for the report and images. We went out there a few years ago in the evening and actually had an enjoyable time wandering around at night enjoying the lights on the new buildings. We amy do it again in the daylight now - thanks

I spent a morning there last fall. I couldn't get anyone to go with me.

I thought it was basically fascist in the way that a lot of French architecture is fascist, that is, designed to impress you with the greatness and power of the state and your own smallness in comparison.

This kind of stuff is rife in Paris, both old and new, but much of it has been softened by time and by lots of ornament, detail, and experience.

I also didn't see any single buildings that stood out to me as great architecture in the way that some of Jean Nouvelle's buildings do, despite the somewhat grotesque contradictions in their siting. I was amused by the attempt to humanize the space by having a traditional brasserie complete with traditional tables and awnings tucked into a corner.

I took lots of pictures of people in the space, none of them particularly comfortable looking, and of course of the armed guards with machine pistols under the grand arch.

What I just wrote is observation, not criticism. It is too early to tell which of these projets will turn out to have been a mistake. Beaubourg is not aging well to my eye, and the Bibiliotheque National is generally recognized as a horror.

I'll go back, and I really wouldn't hesitate to stay in a business hotel there and commute to the centre ville. But I would have to do it alone. My wife wouldn't do it on a bet.

Kerouac: Many thanks for this armchair tour of La Defense. In my several trips to Paris, I've never been out there, but am intrigued, and you have given a very thorough account of the area. Terrific report and photos.

thanks for posting the pics.
Great idea to concentrate modern buildings in one location ( on Metro, too).
I stopped there years ago... looks much better now.

Thanks for the report. This is at least the second time recently I've seen photos of La Defense and environs posted. It's such an interesting city planning strategy and solution. I am glad they put the high-rise buildings away from central Paris. I can't imagine Paris now if they hadn't. (Also glad that some of that 70s architecture will be replaced.)

Thanks kerouac-this brings back many memories for me-I lvied in the Marais and commuted out to La Defense (to IBM) although luckily most days I could work from home in my bedroom slippers. One thing a lot of folks may not know that La Defense is divided into villages and that there are actually a fair amount of people who do live there-although it wouldn't be my first choice.

One strong memory I have is of riding the escalator up from the metro one morning and seeing a young guy in front of me using his cell phone to take video up the back of the skirts of the young women who would get on the escalator! I watched him all the way to the top and then "accidentally" used my laptop case to knock his phone all the way back down the stairs-and saw it shatter at the bottom-so all in all a great start to the morning.

Your photos made this section of Paris far more interesting than I ever thought it would be. The buildings are beautiful.

Thank you for your photo report and insights, Kerouac. I have only been there for the Christmas market and to shop at Auchon, so this perspective of such a photogenic area is very special.

Leaving for Paris in 3 days! But who's counting.. Thanks Kerouac for the photos. our 8th trip and haven't seen it yet. You have me intridged with La Defense. I shall try it. Staying next to Nations.Trying to remember, does M1 go to la Defense?

Thanks so much for all these pictures. I really enjoyed myself when I went out there a few years ago. There is an Auchan supermarket there in that mall - with all kinds of interesting sections (middle eastern spices and foods, for instance.)

When I am back in Paris in the spring I will definitely go back to La Defense.

Thanks for the nice photo essay - will prob never visit - but nice to go there in V.Reality.

Very interesting photo essay - nice to see close up what I have seen only in the distance.

Thank you kerouac, fascinating, and as I can't afford to visit again from Australia the photos help feed my Paris obsession! Your photo essays are always enlightening and wonderful.

I havce never been to nor have I even been tempted to visit La Defense. Thanks for the excellent pictures. I will continue to avoid voluntary real life exposure to architectural monstrosity. People seem so out-of-place in that place.

Yes, nicerue50, it's line 1 that goes to La Défense. But if you don't mind paying 2.30€, you can take the RER from Nation and get there in just a few minutes.

I think I was 18 when I first visited La Défense while I was in Paris with my girlfriend. It was a big "wow" factor to step outside the underground RER station. I think I felt a bit like stepping into the plot and scenery of Tati's "Playtime".

"Architectural monstrosity"? I don't know. People used the exact same phrase to describe the Eiffel tower when it was built, if I am not totally wrong

Yes, people have widely varying opinions of modern architecture and some seem to be completely against everything. I always wonder in such cases what they would like to see instead, assuming that they admit that there is a need for big office buildings in the 21st century. Greco-Roman temple style? Haussmann buildings as big as the Pentagon?