Arc de Triomphe to La Défense: 2.5 km of Paris History

The straight-line distance from the Arc de Triomphe (Place Charles de Gaulle) to La Défense (Grande Arche) is 2.5 km (1.6 mi) along the Voie Triomphale / Axe historique—Paris's 8.5-km ceremonial axis from the Louvre to the modern business district.

The Axis in Sequence

1. Louvre Pyramid (0 km)
2. Tuileries Garden
3. Place de la Concorde (Obelisk)
4. Champs-Élysées (1.9 km)
5. Arc de Triomphe (2.2 km from Louvre)
6. Avenue de la Grande Armée
7. Pont de Neuilly (Seine crossing)
8. La Défense — Grande Arche (4.7 km from Louvre; 2.5 km from Arc)

Transit Options

• Metro Line 1: Charles de Gaulle–Étoile → La Défense (2 stops, 4 min).
• RER A: Same stations, 3 min.
• Walk: 30–35 min via Avenue de la Grande Armée (wide sidewalks, plane trees).
• Bus 73 / 174: Surface route.

Symbolism

Arc (1836) = Napoleonic military glory. Grande Arche (1989) = Franco-Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen's "window to the world"—humanitarian ideals. The axis connects imperial past to global future.

2.5 km. A walk through two centuries of French self-image.