The name is French for theElysian Fields, the place for dead heroes inGreek mythology. It has been described as the "most beautiful avenue in the whole world".[1]
Until the reign ofLouis XIV, the land where the Champs-Élysées runs today was largely occupied by fields and kitchen gardens. The Champs-Élysées and its gardens were originally laid out in 1667 byAndré Le Nôtre as an extension of theTuileries Garden, the gardens of theTuileries Palace, which had been built in 1564, and which Le Nôtre had rebuilt in his own formal style for Louis XIV in 1664. Le Nôtre planned a wide promenade between the palace and the modern Rond Point, lined with two rows ofelm trees on either side, and flowerbeds in the symmetrical style of theFrench formal garden.[3] The new boulevard was called the "Grand Cours", or "Grand Promenade". It did not take the name of Champs-Élysées until 1709.[4]
In 1710 the avenue was extended beyond the Rond-Point as far as the modern Place d'Étoile. In 1765 the garden was remade in the Le Nôtre style byAbel François Poisson, the marquis de Marigny, brother of theMadame de Pompadour and Director-General of the King's Buildings. Marigny extended the avenue again in 1774 as far as the modernPorte Maillot.
Following theFrench Revolution, two equestrian statues, made in 1745 by Nicolas and Guillaume Coustou, were transferred from the former royal palace atMarly and placed at the beginning of the boulevard and park. After the downfall of Napoleon and the restoration of the French monarchy, the trees had to be replanted, because the occupation armies of the Russians, British, and Prussians during theHundred Days had camped in the park and used the trees for firewood.[5]
The avenue from the Rond-Point to the Étoile was built up during theEmpire. The major monument of the Boulevard, theArc de Triomphe, had been commissioned byNapoleon after his victory at theBattle of Austerlitz, but it was not finished when he fell from power in 1815. The monument remained unfinished until 1833–1836, when it was completed by KingLouis Philippe. The Champs-Élysées itself became city property in 1828, and footpaths, fountains, and, later, gas lighting were added.
In 1834, under KingLouis Philippe I, the architect Mariano Ruiz de Chavez was commissioned to redesign thePlace de la Concorde and the gardens of the Champs-Élysées. He kept the formal gardens and flowerbeds essentially intact, but turned the garden into a sort of outdoor amusement park, with summer garden cafés, such as theCafé des Ambassadeurs and theAlcazar d'Été; two restaurants, the Ledoyen and the restaurant de l'Horloge; a theater, the Lacaze; the Panorama, built in 1839, where large historical paintings were displayed; and the cirque d'eté (1841), a large hall for popular theater, musical, and circus performances. He also placed several ornamental fountains around the park, of which three are still in place.
In 1846, Prince Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the futureNapoleon III, Emperor of the French, lived for a brief period in lodgings just offLord Street, Southport. It is claimed the street is the inspiration behind the Champs-Élysées.[6] Between 1854 and 1870, Napoléon III orchestrated the reconstruction of the French capital. The medieval centre of the city was demolished and replaced with broad tree-lined boulevards, covered walkways and arcades.
In 1855, EmperorNapoleon III selected the park at the beginning of the avenue as the site of the first great international exposition to be held in Paris, theExposition Universelle. The park was the location of the Palace of Industry, a giant exhibit hall which covered thirty thousand square meters, where theGrand Palais is today. In 1858, following the Exposition, the Emperor's prefect of the Seine,Georges-Eugène Haussmann, had the gardens transformed from a formal French garden into a picturesque English style garden, based on a small town called Southport, with groves of trees, flowerbeds, and winding paths. The rows of elm trees, which were in poor health, were replaced by rows of chestnut trees.
By the late 19th century, the Champs-Élysées had become a fashionable avenue; the trees on either side had grown enough to form rectangular groves (cabinets de verdure). The gardens of the town houses of the nobility built along the Faubourg Saint-Honoré backed onto the formal gardens. The grandest of the private mansions near the Avenue was theÉlysée Palace, a private residence of the nobility which during theThird French Republic became the official residence of the Presidents of France.
Throughout its history, the avenue has been the site of military parades; the most famous were the victory parades of German troops in 1871 and again in 1940 celebrating theFall of France on 14 July 1940, and the three most joyous were the parades celebrating the Allied victory in the First World War in 1919, and the parades of Free French and American forces after the liberation of the city, respectively, theFrench 2nd Armored Division on 25 August 1944, and theUS 28th Infantry Division on 29 August 1944.
A view of Champs-Élysées in the 1860s, looking from the Rond-Point toward the Place de la Concorde.
The Champs-Élysées seen in a bird's-eye view of Paris,c. 1870.
The Champs-Élysées seen from the Place de la Concorde,c. 1890.
German soldiers marching past the Arc de Triomphe after the surrender of Paris, 14 June 1940.
In 1860, the merchants joined to form theSyndicat d'Initiative et de Défense des Champs-Élysées, anassociation to promote commerce along the avenue. In 1980, the group changed its name to theComité des Champs-Élysées and toComité Champs-Élysées in 2008. It is the oldest standing committee in Paris. The committee has always dedicated itself to seeking public projects to enhance the avenue's unique atmosphere, and tolobby the authorities for extended business hours and to organizing special events. Today, the committee, in coordination with other professional organisations, may review with the Parisian administration the addition to the avenue of new businesses whose floor area would exceed 1000 square meters.[citation needed]
North sidewalk of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées at dawn, featuring Christmas decoration lights.
The arrival of global chain stores in recent years has strikingly changed its character, and in a first effort to stem these changes, theCity of Paris (which has called this trend "banalisation") initially decided in 2007 to prohibit theSwedish clothing chainH&M from opening a store on the avenue;[8] however, a large H&M store opened two years later at 88 Champs-Élysées.[9] In 2008, American clothing chainAbercrombie & Fitch was given permission to open a store.[10]
The Champs-Élysées has mid-size shopping malls, extending the shopping area: Élysées 26 (26) with Agatha jewellery and l'Eclaireur fashion, Galeries du Claridge (74) with Annick Goutal perfumes, Fnac, Paul & Shark, Arcades des Champs-Élysées (78) with Starbucks. The list of fashion stores include Maje (35), lululemon (38), Salomon (42), Calvin Klein (44), Levi's (44), Lacoste (50), J.M. Weston (55), Foot Locker (66), Zara (74-92), Longchamp (77), Nike (79), Adidas (88), Sandro (91), The Kooples (93), Louis Vuitton (101), Hugo Boss (115), Massimo Dutti (116), Petit Bateau (116), JD Sports (118), Moncler (119), Yves Saint Laurent (123), Dior (127). The list of perfume stores include Guerlain (68) (Le 68 de Guy Martin), Sephora multi brand (70), Yves Rocher (102). Jewellers: Tiffany & Co. (62), Bulgari (136), Swarovski (146), Cartier (154). Book and music store: FNAC (74). The list of car show-rooms include Renault (53).[11]
Every year duringAdvent,Christmastide, andEpiphany, the 'Champs-Élysées' Committee contribute for the holidays seasons lighting of the Champs-Élysées. This generally occurs from late November until early January.
From 1975 to 2023, thelast stage of theTour de France cycling race has finished on the Champs-Élysées.[13] The subsequent awards ceremony also takes place directly on the avenue.
Huge gatherings occasionally take place on the Champs-Élysées in celebration of popular events, such as New Year's Eve, or whenFrance won theFIFA World Cup in1998 and2018. The Champs-Élysées has occasionally been the site of large political protest meetings.
On 20 April 2017,a police officer was shot dead on the Champs-Élysées by an extremist and two other officers were injured. They were all sitting in a parked police van, when the attacker pulled up in front of the van. The attacker tried to shoot civilians (including a tourist)[15] and was immediately shot dead by other police on the spot.[16] The shooting happened two days before thefirst round of voting in the 2017 French presidential election.
On 19 June 2017, a suspected terroristdrove a munitions-laden car into a police vehicle on the Champs-Élysées. The attacker was then shot dead.[17]
On 16 March 2019,Gilets Jaunes protests on the Champs-Élysées erupted into violence. A portion of the 10,000 protesters in the city, about 1,500 people, looted and/or set on fire some 80 shops, restaurants, a bank, and newspaper kiosks along the avenue.[18][19]
The Champs-Élysées has encountered rising problems with air pollution from the estimated 3,000 vehicles per hour which drive through its eight lanes. It is more polluted than thePériphériquering road which encircles the city, withnitrogen dioxide levels twice as high as the recommended limit set by theWorld Health Organization.[20][21] Since 2016, the avenue has been closed to motor traffic on the first Sunday of every month, in an effort to cut pollution in the city.[22][20] A 2019 article inThe Guardian stated that the avenue "has more and more visitors and big name businesses battle to be on it, but to French people it's looking worn out.”[20] It has also become mainly a tourist attraction, which Parisians largely avoid. According to the architect Philippe Chiambaretta, 72% of the 100,000 pedestrians who visited the Champs-Élysées each day in 2019 were tourists and another 22% worked there.[20]
View of the Avenue des Champs-Elysées at night.
At the beginning of 2021, theMayor of Paris,Anne Hidalgo, announced that the city would transform the Champs-Élysées into an "extraordinary garden" which will reduce the space for auto traffic by half, add more pedestrian space, and create "tunnels of trees" for improved air quality.[23] A walkway will connect over 200 acres of green space stretching between the Arc de Triomphe, the Place de la Concorde, and the Tuileries Gardens.[21] The city intends to adopt the plans formulated by the Champs-Élysées Committee, which has been campaigning for a redesign of the avenue since 2018 and which held a public consultation as to what the redesign should include. The plans are meant to make the avenue more "ecological, desirable and inclusive," and will cost an estimated €250 million. It will include a redesign of the Place de la Concorde as well. The work will not begin in earnest before the2024 Summer Olympics are held in Paris, but the goal is to complete the project by 2030.[23]
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