La plus belle avenue du monde

a.k.a. the Avenue des Champs-Élysées

This weeks drawing was done on a warm, (really warm) July afternoon while standing on the most expensive strip of real estate in Europe. It’s known in France as La plus belle avenue du monde (“The most beautiful avenue in the world”), a fitting call since it’s just down the street from the stunning Jardin des Tuileries I love so much, (last weeks drawing). To the rest of the world it’s called the Avenue des Champs-Élysée.

The avenue runs for two kilometres (1.25 miles) through the 8th arrondissement in northwestern Paris and it’s name is French for Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed dead in Greek mythology. Up until 1616  it actually was fields and market gardens. It was then Marie de Medici decided to extend the garden axis of the Palais des Tuileries with an avenue of trees. Recognized today for it’s beauty, haute couture, shops and tremendous place in history, this alluring boulevard illustrates French culture on the grandest of scales, a must see.

urban trivia: They say rents on the Champs-Élysée run as high as USD1.5 million per 1,000 square feet (92.9 square metres) of space, pretty remarkable (even for New York standards) …’till next time  – Michele