Paris last day Champs Elysee stroll July 29 2014

The Champs-Elysées is almost two kilometers long and seventy meters wide. At its western end the street is bordered by cinemas, theaters, cafés and luxury shops. On the opposite end, near the Place de la Concorde, the street is bordered by the Jardins des Champs-Elysées, beautifully arranged gardens with fountains and some grand buildings including the Grand and Petit Palais at the southern side and the Elysée at its northern side. The latter has been the residence of the French Presidents since 1873.

Seventeenth century - The Elysian Fields

In the sixteenth century this area was nothing but fields outside the center of Paris. In 1616 Marie de Medicis decided to create a long tree-lined path going east from the Tuileries. The route was redesigned in 1667 by renowned landscape designer André Le Nôtre as an extension of the Jardins des Tuileries. The promenade, now called 'Grande Allée du Roule' or 'Grand-Cours' had become a fashionable place but was still isolated from the city with few buildings surrounding the area.
Twenty-seven years later the promenade was renamed to 'Champs-Elysées', or Elysian Fields in English. The name was derived from Greek mythology where 'Elusia' is a place where heroes come to relax.

Eighteenth & nineteenth centuries - Further Development

In 1724 the Champs-Elysées was extended all the way to the Chaillot hill (now known as l'Etoile, the site of the Arc de Triomphe). Its current form took shape in 1838 when French architect Ignaz Hittorf - who was redesigning the Place de la Concorde - created the Jardins des Champs-Elysées. He also installed sidewalks, gas lamps and fountains. The Champs-Elysées started to attract more and more restaurants and hotels, especially after 1900 when the Paris metro line no. 1 reached the Etoile station.

MacDonalds