Who will ever refuse to have a private mansion facing the world’s most beautiful avenue: Champs-Élysées? If you have read the world-famous fiction ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ (originally written in French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo), you should have already imagined how the avenue looks like as it is one of the most frequently mentioned streets throughout this great fiction first published in 1846 by Alexandre Dumas. Even though the entire plot is not a true story, the streets and towns described truly exist in France. It should be during the period of time Dumas was narrating this great fiction, the avenue was redesigned and beautified to gain more attraction. This could have provided him the thought to introduce the location of the palace of Count of Monte Cristo as number 30th of this beautiful avenue. This write-up invites you to join a lovely walk along the avenue of Champs-Élysées.
Paris; the city of paradise has its own remarkable architectural and historical locations that attract tourists all over the world. As same as every tourist visit the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum, Montmartre, and other grand historical locations, a wonderful walk along the Champs-Élysées is never missed.
The avenue is 2 km long spanning from the Arc de Triomphe: another historical piece in Paris to the Place de la Concorde. Its history drives back to the 1660s where it was first built up in 1667 at the time of King Louis XIV. It was named with different other names from time to time but the name Champs-Élysées (meaning: a paradise after death) remained unchanged after introducing in 1789. Corn and oats were the first trees grown along Champs-Élysées in 1667 planning to enrich the Palais des Tuileries (Tuileries Palace) which is close to the Avenue.
The avenue remained the same during the French revolution and became very popular after its transformation between 1836 and 1840 by the architect Hittorff. Although the private mansion of Count of Monte Cristo was located in this same avenue, in reality, the first mansion in the avenue is recorded from 1858 after the modification by the baron Hausmann mainly the promenade. These changes created a period of prosperity attracting the rich to form their residences, hotels, and palaces. The coffee shops and restaurants we see today were introduced in the 19th century providing an ideal site for shopping with stores of popular brands, and cafes. There are new plans to make several changes in Champs-Élysées to make it greener. However, the privilege of owning a private mansion with the view of Champs-Élysées costs a fortune and is an inaccessible luxury.
References:
- http://www.champs-elysees-paris.org/?page_id=203
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Champs_Elysees_from_the_Arch.jpg
- https://www.wsj.com/articles/paris-to-revamp-traffic-clogged-champs-elysees-as-a-city-garden-11610711228
- https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Avenue_des_Champs-%C3%89lys%C3%A9es_July_24%2C_2009_N1.jpg
