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| The Colourful Le Moretti |
With the Eurostar only 30mins away from me I am surprised I don’t do Paris every other weekend. You can check out my posts on some of my previous adventures in Paris. On this trip we also managed to take a trip to explore La Defense. La Defense in Paris is a major business district. I would liken it to London’s Canary Wharf and because it’s there are mainly offices there, tourists tend to not go there so much. Unless you are into architecture photography that is. Don’t cross it off because you assumed there is nothing to see there. It offers great views into Paris. You can see the Eiffel tower from La Defense. You can also see right through Arc de Triomphe from La Defense. The architecture is beautiful here, not to mention that because it’s a business hub, there are many places to eat and shop to cater to those working and spending a majority of their time in this location.
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La Defense is also the site of the Grande Arche, one of Paris’ modern and imposing landmarks. This was the place the Charles de Gaulle concentrated skyscrapers, rather than changing the character of the Parisienne buildings with large and modern commercial buildings. Many of Paris’ tallest buildings can be found here.
If you are a lover of modern art then you will love the remarkable pieces of modern art in this part of Paris. The business district of La Defense as small as it is it boasts 40 statues, sculptures, and monuments in its 400 acres. One monument that sticks out is the beautifully colourful tower called Cheminée Moretti or simply Le Moretti. This is a 32-meter high chimney composed of 672 colourful strands of fiberglass tubes. Running at a total length of 22km in 19 different colours. I haven’t been in La Defense at night but apparently once the floodlights at the top a lit, it allows the colours of the chimney to be reflected on surrounding buildings. For More on cool places to add to your Paris Itinerary check out The Daily Adventures Of Me.
Getting there: It’s the last stop on line one but can also be reached via line A of RER.
Where to stay in La Defense:
Pullman Hotel, Renaissance, Mercure, Novotel, and Movenpick. All located in La Defense.
Places to eat in La Defense: There are plenty of places to eat not to mention that each of the hotels mentioned above will also have a restaurant and bars to entertain the many people who visit this district for work.
Where to stay in La Defense: There are quite a few buildings with corporate organizations so as you may guess with some hotels nearby. To find places to stay in Paris or La Defense check out my favourite booking site; Booking.com.
It’s not too far from the city so if you are in Paris and looking for a new vantage point to see the city, definitely check it out.
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| La Grande Arche de la Défense, a monument, and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west of Paris, France. It is usually known as the Arche de la Défense or simply as La Grande Arche. |
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| Le Moretti – Location in La Défense between buildings Neuilly Defence and Manhattan Square |
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Beautiful pictures. I love it!
Good vibes, FOX
check out my latest VLOG and my blog
http://www.rochellefox.com.au
Thank you! 😀
I have a project starting in the area. Do you know if the la defense paris mall is close to the business district? Also many of the la defense paris restaurants and la defense shopping, is that all in the business district?
Yes, think of it as a mini city. There are plenty of offices, restaurants, shops and hotel too. So if you have a project there you will have plenty within reach also getting back into the centre of Pari is easy for exploring too.
Hey, we want to go and take pictures of the la defense grande arche, do you know if the la defense metro is close by to the arch?
Hi Vatras, yes its only a few meters from the arch. The whole places is pretty easy to navigate.
Hi do you know the la defense arrondissement this area is based in?
I am heading to Paris for work and believe I will be mainly working in La Defense area. I had no idea there was so much going on in this areas; la defense paris restaurants, la defense paris shopping. Do you know if its easy to reach from Paris central?
Hi Hassan, yes its quite a cool place. Its also fairl easy to access by metro too from Paris. We traveled from Champs Elysees and pretty straight forward.