ETERNAL BLISS, PARISIAN STYLE
Where did the name of the street come from? The ancient Greeks called 'Elysium' that part of the underworld where the righteous dwelled. To go to the Champs-Élysées, in essence, meant to die, to enter the abode of the blessed.
Of course, the Champs-Élysées themselves and the surrounding streets did not quite match the idea of a 'realm of eternally blessed shades.' At the beginning of the century, these neighborhoods were called 'neighborhoods of people with cars,' and owning a car in Paris probably brought its owners closer to eternal bliss.
IMAGE IS EVERYTHING
In the late 70s, the most beautiful street in the world was flooded with fast-food eateries and car parks. For the Champs-Élysées, these were years of decline, slow degradation. President Jacques Chirac, back when he was mayor of Paris, decided to restore the street's original meaning and ordered the removal of the cluttering parking lots underground, planted new trees, and improved the pedestrian zone. Now people stroll here again. Over the past six years, luxurious signs have again adorned the facades of buildings. The famous pastry chef Ladurée opened a tea salon, followed by the no less famous Vuitton. Three years ago, the palace hotel 'Marriott' (number 72) reopened its doors. Spending a night 'on the most beautiful street in the world' now costs 1,800 francs ($1 = 6.2 francs).
If in the late 80s foreign firms were reluctant to settle on the Champs-Élysées, now they are rushing to stake out a spot. Despite the crazy rent – from 10,000 to 35,000 francs per square meter, there are at least 15 applications for each offer. The sunny, even-numbered side is considered the most prestigious. There is simply no room left for small traders on the Champs-Élysées. For example, the owner of the Ron-Point gallery (number 24) displaced many small shops by setting up a huge sales hall in the basement. What is not sold on the Champs-Élysées, but oddly enough, they do not favor the sale of game consoles or amusement arcades. Most likely, it's a matter of image.
CHIC, FNAC, AND OTHERS
Shops here are grandly called shopping galleries. The Claridge gallery (number 74) owes its revival to the arrival of the audio and video products store Fnac, which competed with the youth's favorite store Virgin Megastore located one floor below. People come here to buy a CD of their favorite chansonnier or trendy band, but the prices command respect. One consolation – there are also sales and discounts here.
The Galerie des Champs (number 84) managed to seduce McDonald's, which recently opened a second hall there; without this, its business was not going well. The Arcades gallery (numbers 76-78) is gradually lowering its bar to the level of selling mass-market goods, while the small modern gallery 'Elysées-26' steadfastly maintains a high standard. The even-numbered side has given shelter to a whole constellation of fashionable shoe stores: André, Clergerie, Eyro, Bally, Charles Jourdan.
A separate word about the perfume giants. Twenty thousand people each day cannot pass by the hospitably open doors of France's largest perfume store, Sephora (number 70), where you can try all the perfumes openly and take away paper strips with samples for further consideration. The interior of the store is decorated like a large cruise liner, filled with countless aromatic products. There are also tables with books about scents and charts allowing comparison of perfume prices in different cities around the world. It can be confidently stated that no woman will leave here without a purchase of at least 300 francs. And brisk elderly French women head straight to the counter with their favorite perfumes, and after dousing themselves generously, continue their stroll along the Champs.
In a unique mansion from the beginning of the century (number 68), since its founding, another of the oldest perfume houses in France, Guerlain, has been located, whose collection includes two types of perfume called 'Champs-Élysées'. Almost at the very arch, you will also encounter Yves Rocher, loved by Russian women.
TRY STARTING FROM THE BEGINNING
The most famous street in Paris stretches for kilometers, passes under the Arc de Triomphe at the Place de l'Étoile, then becomes the Avenue de la Grande Armée, along which Napoleon and his troops set out for Moscow, and beyond Paris turns into the Avenue de Neuilly. Its straight line is one of the best perspectives of Paris. This beautiful street, lined with trees on both sides, begins, according to some, almost at the gates of the Tuileries and lies on a direct line with the Luxor Obelisk and two triumphal arches, and ends where the sun sets – beyond the new Grande Arche de la Défense.
Others believe that the street originates from the Arc de Triomphe, where columns of military troops start on national holidays, and ends at the Place de la Concorde. In this part, it leads us to the high-fashion avenue, Avenue Montaigne, where the best hotel in Europe, the Plaza Athénée, recently reopened, to the expensive art galleries of Avenue Matignon, and to the best jewelers on Rue François I.
Be that as it may, you need to walk it entirely and preferably more than once; only then can you consider that you have been to Paris.
TASTE FOR LIFE
When a Frenchman falls ill, he does not say, 'I feel unwell,' but sadly announces, 'I have lost my taste for life.' This famous taste is best felt at a table in some café. Their vast terraces, filling the sidewalks, have contributed greatly to the popularity of the Champs. In the luxurious restaurant Fouquet's, Hemingway wrote his stories. By the way, the Fouquet's bar (on the corner of Rue George V) remains the only one that does not admit ladies without escorts. At numbers 76-78, the bar-store-restaurant Planet Hollywood, the brainchild of Willis, Stallone, and Schwarzenegger, is located. American dishes are served here with a sauce of horror from action movies.
If standing facing the Arc de Triomphe, on the left side you can see the restaurants Ladurée, Maison de l'Alsace, at the intersection with Rue Lincoln – the famous Japanese restaurant Santori, and on Rue Bassano – Raspoutine.
Having a drink on the Champs-Élysées is always entertainment for those who like to watch others: the faces of passers-by change like a kaleidoscope. But being present at this show does not come cheap, because prices here are higher than elsewhere, even for a simple cup of coffee, let alone tea. The French easily and elegantly call tea (even from a bag) a natural drink and charge more for it than for coffee – 22 francs. If you didn't get a seat inside a café or on the terrace, but you still want to eat, you can buy sandwiches or quiche – savory pies like pizza – right from the counter that opens onto the street. And you can always sit on a bench under a tree.
Having chewed a sandwich and left with a napkin in hand, tourists look around for a trash can or something resembling one. I never found one, and I didn't dare defile the Champs-Élysées with a crumpled piece of paper. And in vain: electric carts constantly scurry back and forth along the sidewalk, sucking up all the trash like a vacuum cleaner. I was later explained that trash cans exist in the form of posts, but you can't even stick a cigarette butt in them – this is a measure against terrorists.
ALL-NIGHT PARTY
The Lido cabaret, which for 70 years has been a symbol of Parisian nightlife, was nicknamed the "Beach of Paris" as early as 1928, when it settled in the basement of a private mansion with canals and gondolas like in Venice. Half a century later, it moved to the site of the former Normandie cinema (116 bis). Here they dine with champagne, dance, and attend a sparkling show with songs and cancan performed by topless girls.
An entrance ticket (from 385 to 1,015 francs depending on the day of the week and the set of entertainment) gives the right to participate in a giveaway of gifts from the Lido. The pre-New Year hurricane, however, tore the roof off the music hall, but this did not affect the quality of the new show "Magical": the famous Bluebell Girls demonstrate wonders of new choreography combined with purely technical tricks.
Parisian nights on the Champs-Élysées become hot Cuban nights with rum, cigars, and tapas at the Monte Cristo club (68) or downright volcanic at the epicenter of nightlife – the Queen club (102), where up to a thousand visitors come every evening, including the most charming fashionistas of Paris. This is endless movement and sound. Everyone can bring a mask or feathers and participate in an improvised performance. There is a high chance of meeting movie stars here.
ODD SIDE
Russian Aeroflot took a good position at number 33, and Air France after the war settled closer to the Place de l'Étoile at number 119, unable to find a spot on the sunny side. The tall building of the Tourist Office (number 127) is visible from everywhere. You can safely come here for free maps and excursion brochures. The building of Crédit Commercial (number 103) is known for the fact that until 1918 it housed the Palace Hotel "Champs-Élysées", where the spy Mata Hari was captured. The automobile company Renault (numbers 51-63) organized a car exhibition in its showroom to celebrate its centenary.
GARDENS, PALACES AND THEATERS
The part of the street between the Rond-Point and the Place de la Concorde has a completely different appearance. Huge spreading trees and flowering English gardens, which became fashionable during the Second Empire, invite you for a walk along the Allée Marcel Proust. It is especially beautiful here in spring when the rhododendrons bloom. Numerous pavilions hide behind dense foliage: Le Doyen, built under Louis XVI, still remains a sanctuary of French cuisine, as do the summer palaces Élysée and Laurent on the opposite side of the street. The later construction Espace Pierre Cardin is used for exhibitions, performances, and as a summer restaurant. It successfully staged "Juno and Avos" in a production by our Lenkom. Through the trees you can see the domes of palaces built for the 1900 World's Fair in the pompous style of that era. The Grand Palais serves as a venue for prestigious exhibitions and equally prestigious cultural events, attracting all the high society, while the Petit Palais houses a permanent museum. The famous Théâtre Marigny was once run by the king of operetta Offenbach – it was the first theater on the Champs-Élysées.