Paris, France: Arc de Triomphe

Paris, France: La Défense and l’Avenue de la Grande Armée

Last week, I went to l’Arc de Triomphe in Paris in order to take some pictures of Paris and its avenues covered with the green again branches of trees. I must confess I have been waiting for these days of spring and soon summer since the very first day of my arrival in Paris, and now these days are coming, my excitement is far above what I expected.

During winter, Paris is a bit gloomy to me. It’s cold, cloudy, the trees have no leaf, the parks are empty: no flower, no kid running across the lawns, no laughter, no joy, nothing. The sun is setting early, and it’s almost impossible to find time to enjoy the day. Sure, the city is full of monuments to visit, but still, they are a tad lifeless: the Eiffel Tower, without the green lawns and trees of Le Champ de Mars, is much less entertaining.

However, now that summer’s coming back, the days get longer, people get out, flowers blossom, trees lining the streets get green again, and Paris becomes a much more agreeable city than it can appear to be in winter.

From the top of the Arc de Triomphe, the change is striking: Les Champs Elysées and l’Avenue de la Grande Armée, which stretches up to La Défense, are covered with green trees, and regain all their glory.

Such a change is more than welcome, and I can’t wait for the long summer nights, when Notre-Dame de Paris’s rooftop will be open until 11 p.m., enabling me to enjoy a view of Paris I’m sure is the most exceptional of all.