Kléber Avenue

The Avenue Kléber

The Paris audio-guided tour has you take the Avenue Kléber, an elegant Haussmannian way that links the Arc de Triomphe to the Trocadéro over a little more than a kilometre.

From the Castile castle to the Peninsula

The Avenue Kléber is one of the twelve ways laid out by Haussmann from the Place de l'Étoile. The imposing building that borders it rises on the site of a former palace: in 1864, a Russian aristocrat had a sumptuous dwelling built there, soon acquired by Queen Isabella II of Spain, who lived there for thirty-six years during her exile and gave it the name of Castile castle. The building was then demolished to make way for the Majestic hotel, a palace of the Belle Époque. Requisitioned during the Occupation, it housed after the war the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then the seat of UNESCO; the Paris accords of 1973 were signed there. Bought in 2007, it has today become a hotel of great luxury, the Peninsula Paris.

What there is to see

The Avenue Kléber charms with the harmony of its Haussmannian façades and the nobility of the former Majestic hotel, a witness to so many episodes of History. Going up it, one passes from the Arc de Triomphe to the Trocadéro esplanade, in one of the most chic districts of Paris. It is a fine architectural walk, punctuated with diplomatic and social memories.

Practical information

The Avenue Kléber links the Place Charles-de-Gaulle to the Trocadéro, in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. It can be walked freely on foot at all hours; its façades can be contemplated from the street, along the walk.

What was the Majestic hotel on the Avenue Kléber?

A Belle Époque palace that successively housed the German high command during the Occupation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then UNESCO, before becoming the Peninsula Paris.

What does the Avenue Kléber connect?

The Arc de Triomphe to the Trocadéro; it is one of the twelve avenues radiating from the Place de l'Étoile, created by Haussmann.