Running tour · Paris

Arches, Bridges and the Tower

7.4 mi run

Open in Stride Stories

The stories on this route

1. The Arc de Triomphe

   Look at the arch, standing in the middle of the traffic star. Twelve avenues meet here, which is why this was called the Place de l'Etoile, the star.

2. The Champs-Elysees

   Look along the avenue: the Arc de Triomphe at the top, the obelisk at the bottom, and about 1.9 kilometres of straight line in between.

3. Place de la Concorde

   Look at the obelisk in the middle of the square. It's more than 3,000 years old, carved in the reign of Ramesses II to stand at the entrance of Luxor Temple. Its twin is still there.

4. The Tuileries Garden

   Look along the long central alley, toward the Louvre. The name Tuileries comes from the tile factories, tuileries, that stood here from the 13th century.

5. The Louvre

   Look at the big glass pyramid. I. M. Pei designed it, and it was finished in 1989. Critics called it "Pharaoh Francois' Pyramid".

6. Pont Neuf

   Look at Henri IV on horseback, in the middle of the bridge. Pont Neuf means New Bridge, yet this is the oldest standing bridge across the Seine in Paris.

7. Notre-Dame

   Look up past the two towers to the spire rising behind them, with its gilded cockerel on top. That spire is only a few years old.

8. The Musee d'Orsay

   Look at the long stone front, with a big clock at each end. That's a railway station in disguise.

9. Pont Alexandre III

   Look at the gilded winged horses on top of the four tall pillars, each with a figure of Fame holding it back. This is widely regarded as the most ornate bridge in Paris.

10. The Eiffel Tower

    Look up at the Eiffel Tower: four splayed legs, three levels, and an aerial on top. Remember that aerial.

11. The Trocadero

    Look out from the terrace between the two curved white wings of the Palais de Chaillot. The Eiffel Tower lines up straight ahead across the river.

12. The Paris Marathon

    Look along Avenue Foch, the widest avenue in Paris, with chestnut trees all the way. On race day, this is where the Paris Marathon ends. It starts on the Champs-Elysees, loops out to the Bois de Vincennes, and comes back along the Seine to finish right here.

Stories researched October 2026 · every fact checked against a source