CHAMPS ELYSEES Scheduled BATOBUS STOP

 

From the Greeks, for whom the Elysian Fields or (Champs-Elysées) were the resting place of heroes, right up to Monopoly players, via Marcel Proust, who watched out for his Gilberte there and the politicians who courted the Palace, "the most beautiful avenue in the world" has always inspired dreams. But the history of this avenue, marked out for Marie de Médicis on the site of an ancient marsh, really began with Napoleon III. The development of the gardens and the construction of private mansions allowed the Avenue to blossom, beginning at Place de la Concorde and ending at the Arc de Triomphe. As the 20th century dawned, the World Exhibitions gave it its Grand and Petit Palais, and the Champs Elysées became a place of symbolic importance: Hitler conquered Paris there and De Gaulle liberated it. Today, it is always included in the route of parades and commemorations. Restored in 1994, it has regained its prestige, even though there may be rather too many burger joints and cars.