The Champs Elysees is without doubt one of the most prestigious and most famous avenues in the world and is very popular with the rich and famous for a shopping trip with its luxury boutiques and specialty coffee fantastic.

Its official name is the Avenue des Champs-Elysees and is the broadest in Paris, is even wider also took second in Europe after the Unirii Boulevard in Bucharest. But this possibility is not only a place for the rich, even though after New York’s Fifth Avenue, Champs-Elysees is the second most expensive strip of real estate in the world with a higher rent than £ 600,000 or more per year for only a space of about 100 square meters.

No visitor to Paris should miss taking a walk along this avenue of trees to absorb the atmosphere, where it hosts many special occasions, including the arrival of the famous Tour de France, and the military parades held on Bastille Day, which is the largest parades in Europe.

You can probably imagine why there are famous names such as Guerlain Parfumerie with its beautiful staircase and turn of the century elegance, Laduree tearoom, the Lido, which is famous for its risque shows and the Louis Vuitton store all have important positions.

Plus there are also chains stores like Gap and Nike, a Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream House, fast food outlets like McDonald’s, plus banks, car showrooms, hotels, etc., and some cafes and restaurants are very nice.

However, if you want to visit the really famous designer boutiques like Chanel, Christian Dior, Cartier, etc, you’ll need to venture out of the side streets a very fashionable like Avenue Montaigne and Rue du Faubourg Saint Honore, but bear in mind that many shops in Paris are closed on Sundays.

Now when you look at the history of the Champs-Elysees, to the 17th century, it was originally fields and market gardens until Marie de Medici decided to extend the axis of the Tuileries Gardens Building with an avenue of trees. Then in the latter part of 1600, Andre Le Notre, who designed the gardens of Versailles, designed the Avenue so that there was a magnificent view of the Tuileries Gardens.

In the 18th century it was lengthened from the Place de la Concorde with its obelisk to the Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly known as Place de l’Etoile, who is now the site of the famous monument, the Arc de Triumph.

The Champs-Elysées is now about two kilometers long and had footpaths and street lighting added around 1828 when the city of Paris has resumed. Fountains have also been added and there have been many transitions, most recently in 1994 when the roads were widened for the comfort of pedestrians to be further from the continuous traffic.

So when you’re in Paris, why not start at the famous deck of the Arc de Triomphe, then walk along the avenue eventually reaching the Tuileries Gardens, which are part of the famous museum called the Louvre . Yet when your legs feel tired and sore feet, it can be nice to relax with a coffee or eat at one of the many sidewalk cafés that line the Champs Elysees, but can be expensive, though to venture out to one of the pubs or restaurants in a side street can provide far better value for money, or if you feel peckish, then there are even snack bars and shops mobile serving drinks and burgers, etc. that do not burn a hole in your pocket.

The Champs Elysees is also great on a beautiful day, but with not much coverage, can be a real drudge when it rains in torrents, although for us the most magical moment is at Christmas when the committee meets and adorn the avenue with a lot of lights.