La Defense de Paris, La Defense

Great venue on the outskirts of Paris. Highly commercialised, big chain shops etc, but also perfect for a day shopping with all the restaurants/cafes and outdoor views anyone could do for. Fantastic view towards central Paris, directly facing the marble arch.

Doesn’t even feel like you are in Paris here!! There is so much to see and do here. Also so many shops for all the shopaholics!! Very easy to access the RER A will take to straight here. The district of La Défense, the largest economic center in Europe, covers three communes: Courbevoie, Puteaux and Nanterre. This business district, mainly surrounded by towers, headquarters and offices, is home to the tallest and most emblematic towers in France: Coeur Défense, EDF, Granite, First ... In the middle of this modern landscape, on the esplanade, 60 works of art enliven this frame. Among the most important are Shelomo Selinger's "The Dance", a set of 35 carved planters, stretching over the 3,600 m² of the Lower Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle square; Alexander Calder's "Red Spider", a 15-meter tall sculpture located not far from the Total Tower; "The monumental fountain" of Yaacov Agam; "Fantastic Characters" by Joan Miró; "Takis Basin" piquet of enigmatic signals closes the slab to the East; Raymond Moretti's "Chimney" 32 meters high and made up of hundreds of colored tubes; "The Thumb" by Cesar Baldaccini, sculpture of 12 meters. The district is home to two metro stations, a shopping center "Les Quatre Temps", a modern church Notre-Dame de Pentecôte. The main monument of the district is the spectacular Grande Arche, a masterpiece created in 1989 by the architects Johan-Otto Von Spreckelsen and Paul Andreu. The La Défense esplanade hosts every year major events: Christmas market, an ice rink, La Défense Jazz Festival ... La Défense is since 25 September 2019 classified International Tourist Zone.