Arc de Triomphe, in full Arc de Triomphe de l’Étoile, massive triumphal arch in Paris, France, one of the world’s best-known commemorative monuments.
It stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly called the Place de l’Étoile), the western terminus of the avenue des Champs-Élysées; just over 1.2 miles (2 km) away, at the eastern terminus, is the Place de la Concorde.
Napoleon I commissioned the triumphal arch in 1806 - after his great victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) - to celebrate the military achievements of the French armies.