A typical parisian point of view
The clinic is located at the cross of all luxury parisian influences, in the heart of the Golden Triangle, which is defined by the Champs Elysées Avenue, the Montaigne Avenue and the Marignan street.
Situated on the right bank of the River Seine and centred on the Opéra, the 8th is, together with the 2nd and 9th arrondissements, one of Paris’s main business districts. According to the 1999 census, it was the place of employment of more people than any other single arrondissement of the capital. It is also the location of many places of interest, among them the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe and the Place de la Concorde, as well as the Élysée Palace, official residence of the President of France.
The Champs-Élysées
The avenue runs for 2 kilometers (1.25 miles) through the 8th arrondissement in northwestern Paris, from the Place de la Concorde in the east, with the Obelisk of Luxor,[5] to the Place Charles de Gaulle (formerly the Place de l’Étoile) in the west, location of the Arc de Triomphe. The Champs-Élysées forms part of the Axe historique.
One of the principal tourist destinations in Paris, the lower part of the Champs-Élysées is bordered by greenery (Carré Marigny) and by buildings such as the Théâtre Marigny and the Grand Palais (containing the Palais de la Découverte). The Élysée Palace is slightly to the north, but not on the avenue itself. Further to the west, the avenue is lined with cinemas, cafés and restaurants, and luxury specialty shops. The Champs-Élysées ends at the Arc de Triomphe, built by Napoleon Bonaparte to honour his victories.
The Champs-Élysées was originally fields and market gardens, until 1616, when Marie de Medici decided to extend the axis of the Tuileries Garden with an avenue of trees. As late as 1716, Guillaume Delisle’s map of Paris shows that a short stretch of roads and fields and market garden plots still separated the grand axe of the Tuileries gardens from the planted « Avenue des Thuilleries, » which was punctuated by a circular basin where the Rond Point stands today; already it was planted with some avenues of trees to the Seine river through woods and fields. In 1724, the Tuileries Garden axis and the avenue were connected and extended, leading beyond thePlace de l’Étoile; the « Elysian Fields » were open parkland flanking it, soon filled in with bosquets of trees formally planted in straight rank and file. To the east, the unloved and neglected « Vieux Louvre » (as it is called on the maps), still hemmed in by buildings, was not part of the axis. In a map of 1724, the Grande Avenue des Champs-Elisée stretches west from a newly-cleared Place du Pont Tournant soon to be renamed for Louis XV and now the Place de la Concorde.
By the late 18th century, the Champs-Élysées had become a fashionable avenue; the bosquet plantings on either side had thickened enough to be given formal rectangular glades (cabinets de verdure). The gardens of houses built along the Faubourg Saint-Honoré backed onto the formal bosquets. The grandest of them was theÉlysée Palace. A semicircle of house-fronts now defined the north side of the Rond-Point. Queen Marie Antoinette drove with her friends and took music lessons at the grand Hôtel de Crillon on the Place Louis XV.[6] The avenue from the Rond-Point to the Étoile was built up during the Empire. The Champs-Élysées itself became city property in 1828, and footpaths, fountains, and gas lighting were added. Over the years, the avenue has undergone numerous transitions, most recently in 1994, when the sidewalks were widened.
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées, because of its size and proximity to several Parisian landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe, has been the site of several notable military parades, the most infamous being the march of German troops celebrating the Fall of France on 14 June 1940, and the two most famous, the subsequent marches of Free French and American forces after the liberation of the city, respectively, the French 2nd Armored Division on 26 August 1944, and the US 28th Infantry Division on 29 August 1944.
Premier offices and retail
In 1860, the merchants along the avenue joined together to form the Syndicat d’Initiative et de Défense des Champs-Élysées, changed to an association in 1916 to promote commercially the avenue. In 1980, the group changed its name to the Comité des Champs-Élysées and to « Comité Champs-Élysées » in 2008. It is the oldest standing committee in Paris. The committee has always dedicated itself to seek public projects to enhance the avenue’s unique atmosphere, and to lobby the authorities for extended business hours and to organize special events. Today, the committee in coordination with other professional organisations could review with the Parisian administration over the addition of new business which size is over 1000 square meters to the avenue.
Because of the high rents, few people live on the Champs-Élysées; the upper stories tend to be occupied by offices. Rents are particularly high on the north side of the avenue, because of better exposure to sunlight. The baroque-influenced regular architecture of the grandiose Champs-Élysées is typical of the Haussmann boulevard architecture of the Second Empire and Third Republic. The avenue is located right next to the Palais de l’Élysée, the presidential palace, with its rounded gate, and theGrand Palais, erected in the late 19th century. While walking among the gardens and tree-lined promenades one can even encounter an open-air marionette theatre for children, a French tradition popular through the ages.
The avenue is also one of the most famous streets in the world for upscale shopping. Adidas, Benetton, the Disney Store, Nike, Zara, Cartier, Bel Air Fashion, Toyota, continental Europe’s largest Gap, and Sephora occupy major spaces.Traditionally home to popular brands, as well as luxury brands (such as Louis Vuitton), the Avenue des Champs-Élysées confirms its world-class appeal as a prime real estate location.
L’avenue Montaigne
Avenue Montaigne was originally called the allée des Veuves (widows’ alley) because women in mourning gathered there, but the street has changed much since those days of the early 18th century. The current name comes from Michel de Montaigne, a writer of the French Renaissance. In the nineteenth century, the street earned some renown for its sparkling and colourful Mabille balls on Saturday nights.
Avenue Montaigne boasts numerous stores specialising in high fashion, such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Fendi, Valentino and Ralph Lauren, as well as jewellers likeBulgari and other upscale establishments such as the Plaza Athénée hotel.
By the 1980s, the avenue Montaigne was considered to be la grande dame of French streets for high fashion and accessories, and is now considered more important thanrue du Faubourg Saint Honoré. Several established clothing designers set up here, particularly the LVMH (Moët Hennessey Louis Vuitton) group. LVMH brought investment and international attention to the street, and its stable of top designers and firms, such as Céline, Loewe, Vuitton, Inès de la Fressange and formerly Christian Lacroix, own a substantial portfolio of the street’s real estate.
At the 15, avenue Montaigne stands the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.