La Grande Arche de la Défense (French: [la ɡʁɑ̃d aʁʃ də la defɑ̃s]; "The Great Arch of the Defense"), originally called La Grande Arche de la Fraternité (French: [fʁatɛʁnite]; "Fraternity"), is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west of Paris, France. It is usually known as the Arche de la Défense or simply as La Grande Arche. A 110-metre-high (360 ft) cube, La Grande Arche is part of the perspective from the Louvre to Arc de Triomphe, and was one of the Grands Projets of François Mitterrand. The distance from La Grande Arche to Arc de Triomphe is 4 km (2+1⁄2 miles).
A great national design competition was launched in 1982 as the initiative of French president François Mitterrand. Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen (1929–1987) and Danish engineer Erik Reitzel (1941-2012) designed the winning entry to be a late-20th-century version of the Arc de Triomphe: a monument to humanity and humanitarian ideals rather than military victories. The construction of the monument began in 1985, with most of the work being carried out by French civil engineering company Bouygues. Spreckelsen resigned in July 1986 and ratified the transfer of all his architectural responsibilities to his associate, French architect Paul Andreu. Reitzel continued his work until the monument was completed in 1989. The Grande Arche is in the approximate shape of a cube with a width, height and depth of 110 m (360 ft); it has been suggested that the structure looks like a hypercube (a tesseract) projected onto the three-dimensional world. It has a prestressed concrete frame covered with glass and is covered in Bethel Granite.
Monday | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Tuesday | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Wednesday | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Thursday | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Friday | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Saturday | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Sunday | 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM |
Jelle Zethof | Jan 28, 2018
A pleasant surprise! The arch itself is very Impressive, and only 10 minutes from the city center. The area around is surprisingly vibrant and there is plenty to do. You have a lovely view from the stairs of the arch over the la defense area and the arc de triomphe. The tickets to the roof top of the arch (15 euro) are rather expensive so I didn't go up. If you have some time left on your Paris visit I would definitely recommend going here.
Paul Thomson | Feb 22, 2018
Absolutely superb. So pleased to see that after all these years it is possible once again to access the top of the Grande Arche via new space-age lifts. The views over Paris are excellent and you escape from the tourists! Very good café, interesting exhibition, and the staff are all friendly and courteous. Couldn't be better.
Walid Baroud | Feb 18, 2018
The place is really nice to see and take pictures. It's very different from the rest of Paris. Full of nice high buildings and 2 big malls. You can find anythinf to drink and eat and buy here. Also there are some events happening during the day very often
Orlin ILIEV | Jan 10, 2018
Great view from the roof terrace. Dogs are welcomed. Years ago on the last floor there was an exposition with photos and description how the building was constructed, now there is a gallery for which you have to pay extra.
Moran Ben Hur | Mar 3, 2018
The heighest cieling I’ve ever been under. The rooftop is amazing and sureal.
Ryan McCoppin | Mar 21, 2018
This is the modern part of Paris. Everything here is 21st century. There is a mall, modern art and this large cube. The cube is interesting to look at. We couldn't go up inside it at the time because it was closed / under construction. I think you should check ahead of time before planning a stop out here. It is a distance from downtown Paris.
Sheldon Bartel | Mar 26, 2018
Set in among other great architectural sites, it's beautiful. Lots of restaurants and shopping around it. It aligns perfectly with the arc de triomph (so?) Located a couple kilometres away.
Shaiju B | May 13, 2018
Its a looker for the people whi come to la Defence. Its an office building which looks like a frame. Very innovative design.
Mark Doctoroff | May 27, 2018
Paris celebrates the Northern Hemisphere's longest day with an incredible set of free concerts [over 250 on 21 June]... The Grand Arche extends these interesting, diverse, musical performances/celebrations for several weeks before and after 21 June. For many years I have made a point of being in Paris for 21 June as well as visiting the Arche for concerts and a picnic [having wine with your picnic is NOT prohibited]. The area around the grand Arche is a large business/office district. This Arche is also visibly and symbolically linked to the Arc de Triomphe. I hope that this Review has been helpful!!
Susan Wilburn | Jun 14, 2018
It's worth going to La Defense to see it. It is right at the end of the pedestrian area right by the mall. the La defense Metro is right under it. Really good place.
Egor Popelyaev | May 19, 2018
It seems that the place is still under construction. Overall view is not so bad. Very modern and different from the classic Paris
Fernando Moreno | Jun 24, 2018
Monumental arco-rascacielos moderno en el área financiera de París.Se puede subir arriba para tener buenas vistas en un ascensor transparente. Gratte-ciel archi-moderne monumentale dans le quartier financier de Paris, vous pouvez monter à l'étage pour avoir de belles vues dans un ascenseur transparent. Monumental arch-modern skyscraper in the financial area of Paris. You can climb upstairs to have good views in a transparent elevator. Grattacielo monumentale moderno nella zona finanziaria di Parigi: puoi salire al piano di sopra per avere una bella vista in un ascensore trasparente. 巨大的拱現代摩天大樓在巴黎的金融區。您可以爬上樓去在透明的電梯裡享受美景。 パリの金融地区にある記念碑的なアーチとモダンな超高層ビル。透明なエレベーターで上を見渡すことができます。 Monumentaler Bogen-moderner Wolkenkratzer im Finanzbereich von Paris Sie können oben klettern, um gute Ansichten in einem transparenten Aufzug zu haben. ناطحة سحاب ضخمة حديثة في المنطقة المالية في باريس ، يمكنك الصعود إلى الطابق العلوي للحصول على مناظر جيدة في مصعد شفاف.
Guillermo g | Jun 22, 2018
Really nice staff. made me feel like i was an important foreign diplomat. told me about the city while going up the elevator. beautiful architecture and very clean bathrooms. Beautiful views and a very convenient train station.
sampurna pal | Jul 10, 2018
There are beautiful shops around. Feel free to enjoy the vista with some good food and beverage. 👍
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