Paris, day 3 - the Arc de Triomphe

27,107 steps today – and the last ones took us to what we all thought was one of the most special moments of the trip. We timed dinner so that we’d be finished when the lights of Paris were glowing… and then we went to visit the Arc de Triomphe. Took the subway under the roundabout, and stood under the arch itself and an enormous French flag.

There is a flame burning on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which I think is a lovely idea.

Then we went through a narrow passage and climbed 284 spiral steps to the top.

Just before the top, there’s a small exhibition room.

And then you come out and see Paris lit up by night from 50m up. Stunning. Gerry was fascinated by the traffic.

Here, roughly in the middle of the skyline, you can see the Sacre-Coeur.

The obvious sight is the Eiffel Tower.

I’d read up before we went and I knew to expect something special to happen on the hour. It was a bit chilly upstairs, but I said we really, really, REALLY had to stay up. And then suddenly 20,000 lights started going on and off, making the Eiffel Tower sparkle light a giant Roman candle. A still pic doesn’t even begin to do justice to it…