Art & architecture - Paris e-guide: The Travel Guide with its Own Website - page 97

West

8 G2

Along the Champs-Elysées
It's been sung about, marched on, and plays host each
year to the Bastille Day parade (see p11) , the Tour de
France climax (see p11) and any other occasion for
national celebration. Running from place de la
Concorde up to Napoleon I's Arc de Triomphe, the
3-km- (2-mile-) long avenue, built by Baron Haussmann
as part of his grand plan for a new Paris, still exudes a
certain grandeur, even though it has suffered from an
invasion of tacky, touristy shops and food outlets.
At its lower end, the expansive but traffic-heavy
place de la Concorde is dominated by a 3,300-year-old
granite obelisk, a gift from the Viceroy of Egypt. From
here to the midway roundabout, the Champs-Elysées
is bordered by gardens on both sides. The northern
stretch of greenery backs on to the high-security 18th-
century presidential residence, the Palais de l'Elysée,
while the southern side is dominated by the colossal

glass dome of the Grand Palais (see p224) and neigh-
bouring Petit Palais (see p224) , both remnants of the
1900 Exposition Universelle. The former hosts diverse,
crowd-pulling temporary shows, while the latter -
usually home to the city's fine-arts collection - is
undergoing a massive renovation programme for
2006 to improve lighting, increase exhibition space
and generally restore its former glory.
At the back of the Grand Palais, the Palais de la
Découverte (see p225) is a child-friendly science
museum with a planetarium and an array of inter-
active exhibits relating to human biology, astronomy
and meteorology. The hottest spot at the upper end
of the avenue is the Publicis Drugstore (see p83) ,
reopened in 2004 after a daringly modern make-over
by architect Michele Saee. The minimalist, curvaceous
steel-and-glass-spiralled frontage sets it apart from
its ornate, 19th-century neighbours.