Arc du Carousel du Louvre

Napoleon loved triumphal arches. Prior to building the massive Arc de Triomphe at the top of the Champs-Elysées, he commissioned the Arc du Carousel to celebrate his army, just as they had celebrated him with the Vendôme column.

While “only” fifteen meters high, the size of the arch is actually perfectly proportionate to its surroundings, and a larger monument would have been out of place. Architecture is all about harmony.

The Arc du Carousel is built in the neoclassical style dear to the great duo of architects Percier & Fontaine. From 1809 to 1871, the arch was the gateway entrance to the Tuileries Palace, which burned down during the Paris Commune - the fourth French Revolution!