Which neoclassical triumphal arch in Paris was commissioned by Napoleon?

The neoclassical triumphal arch in Paris commissioned by Napoleon is the Arc de Triomphe. Napoleon ordered it in 1806 after his victory at Austerlitz, intending it to honor soldiers who fought for France during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.

Architect Jean-François Chalgrin designed the monument, drawing particular inspiration from the ancient Arch of Titus in Rome. Construction was interrupted during the Bourbon Restoration and resumed later, so Napoleon never saw the completed arch. It was finished in 1836 during the reign of Louis Philippe I.

The Arc stands at the center of today’s Place Charles de Gaulle, where twelve avenues meet. The names of French victories and generals are carved on its surfaces. Beneath the vault lies the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I, whose eternal flame has burned since 1923.

It is often confused with the Arch of Constantine, which is an ancient Roman monument, or with London’s Marble Arch. The Paris landmark is both a Napoleonic symbol and a later national memorial whose meaning expanded beyond the emperor himself.