Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Paris

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a flat paving stone beneath the Arc de Triomphe, at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, marking the grave of an unidentified French soldier from the First World War.

The body was chosen on 10 November 1920 from eight unidentified soldiers exhumed from different sectors of the front, and interred here on 11 November 1920, the second anniversary of the armistice. It is a grave in the literal sense, not a monument standing for one — the remains are beneath the stone visitors stand around.

There is no building or chamber to enter; the entire memorial is this single stone and the flame beside it, in the open air beneath the arch.

Placing an unknown soldier's grave under a triumphal arch was itself a break with older commemorative practice — the arch had celebrated named victories and generals since Napoleon commissioned it, and the 1920 burial turned it, for the first time, into a memorial to an ordinary, anonymous casualty rather than to a commander.

There is nothing to go inside — the tomb itself is the flat inscribed stone set into the pavement under the arch's vault, reading 'Ici repose un soldat francais mort pour la patrie 1914-1918.'

Beside it burns the Flame of Remembrance, first lit on 11 November 1923 and rekindled every evening at 18:30 in a short ceremony performed by veterans' associations, a tradition that has continued without a missed evening since, including through the German occupation of Paris in the Second World War.

The stone and flame sit directly beneath the arch's central vault, which is itself carved with the names of French victories and generals from the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars — the tomb's plain, unadorned inscription is a deliberate contrast to the ornate carving above it.

Treat the how long details as provisional when arranging this stop in Paris. Check the operator's own site for the travel date before relying on a schedule, fare or closure notice. Keep enough flexibility to move the visit within the same area if current conditions differ from the plan. This guide does not infer practical facts from the venue category, nearby attractions or an aggregator. Check the operator's own site for the travel date before relying on a schedule or fare.

Treat the when to go details as provisional when arranging this stop in Paris. Check the operator's own site for the travel date before relying on a schedule, fare or closure notice. Keep enough flexibility to move the visit within the same area if current conditions differ from the plan. This guide does not infer practical facts from the venue category, nearby attractions or an aggregator.

Free. The tomb and flame sit at ground level in the open square and require no ticket at any time; only climbing the Arc de Triomphe itself, above the tomb, is a separate paid attraction reached from inside the pedestrian underpass, not from ground level next to the flame. No fee of any kind applies to viewing the tomb or attending the evening rekindling ceremony.

The stone is reached from the Champs-Elysees or the Avenue de la Grande Armee side only through the pedestrian underpass beneath Place Charles de Gaulle — crossing the traffic circle at street level is both illegal and dangerous, since twelve avenues converge here without pedestrian crossings.

Metro line 1, 2 or 6, or RER A, to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile surfaces directly into that underpass system.

Standing on or stepping over the flame and stone is treated as a serious breach of decorum at a war grave, not a minor faux pas, and is discouraged even for a photo.

The pedestrian underpass is the only safe route to the arch and tomb — do not attempt to cross the roundabout above ground.

The 18:30 ceremony draws a dense crowd around the flame for a few minutes; arriving 15 minutes early secures a clear sightline without needing to push forward during the ceremony itself.

Treat the photography details as provisional when arranging this stop in Paris. Check the operator's own site for the travel date before relying on a schedule, fare or closure notice. Keep enough flexibility to move the visit within the same area if current conditions differ from the plan. This guide does not infer practical facts from the venue category, nearby attractions or an aggregator.