Set at the westernmost extremity of the famous Axe historique (Historical Axis), which comprises the Louvre, the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe, La Défense positions itself as the largest and foremost European business district. The name comes from the statue of La Défense, which commemorates the Parisian resistance during the Franco-Prussian War.
Arc de Triomphe, as seen from La Défense
In 1958, a series of buildings, including the Center of New Industries and Technologies (CNIT), started to take over impoverished neighborhoods with old factories and farms. Today, La Défense harbors many of Paris tallest modern skyscrapers, some nearly 500 feet high, where 180,000 people work daily.
Grande Arche
In 1982, a competition was launched to create a monument to extend the Axe historique. The result was the construction of Grande Arche, celebrating humanity and humanitarian ideals. Nearly 360 feet tall, it is a monumental glass and concrete building, with Carrara marble from Italy, resembling a cube, a 20th century version of the Arc de Triomphe.
The Fountain of Agam
At the foot of the Grande Arche is an esplanade called Le Parvis. This public space reserved for pedestrians includes a vast “dalle”(flat slab) of 70 acres, an urban design with suspended gardens, museums, restaurants, as well as over sixty of modern art pieces with works of Joan Miró, César, Takis, and Agam, and piece of the Berlin Wall.
Around this center, the Carrefour du pont de Neuilly, an important crossroads; La Place de la Défense, with the museum of La Défense; the Bassin de Takis offering a remarkable view towards Neuilly, the Historical Axis and the Tour Eiffel. Also, since 2007, a small vineyard called the Clos de Chantecoq, is present.
Axe Historique
