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Located on the western outskirts of Paris proper, but still within the Paris Metropolitan Area, La Défense is a large purpose-built business district.

Inaugurated in 1958 with the construction of the Centre National des Industries et Techniques (CNIT) — which has been remodeled several times and now is a mix of conference facilities, shopping, and a Hilton hotel — La Défense was expanded significantly by the addition of skyscrapers starting in 1965. Throughout the subsequent decades, the number of highrises mushroomed, and it now is home to the majority of the tallest buildings in France. Perhaps most notably, La Défense boasts the country's tallest highrise, the 231-meter (758-foot) Tour First which eked past Tour Montparnasse, the previous French skyscraper champion, in 1974.

The addition of the iconic Grande Arche in 1989 — as a modern bookend for the Arc de Triomphe along the same historical axis — and the arrival of the metro in 1992 began to draw significantly more businesses and tourists alike to the area. Unfortunately, after an elevator accident in 2010, the top of the Grande Arche was closed to visitors for seven years, but it now is open again. If you would like, you also can purchase a ticket in advance.

These days, more than 500,000 people pass through the district on a daily basis and more than 5,000 of those are people on holiday from elsewhere in France or from another country. If you find yourself working in La Défense, it sometimes, no doubt, feels like there are a lot of tourists in the area — there are a number of hotels, after all — but tourists rarely, if ever, overwhelm the space like they do around the top Paris attractions. The vast majority of tourists in Paris never make it to La Défense and travelgasm.com humbly proposes that tourists should pay more attention to the district than they do.

La Défense physically is a long way from the tour bus routes and conceptually a long way from the Paris so often portrayed in books and films as some kind of Art Nouveau time capsule where intellectuals leisurely sit around in cafés and smoke while discussing philosophy and heartbreak. It is beneficial for a visitor to see La Défense to dispel this stereotype alone. Paris is a major business center — home to more Fortune Global 500 companies than any other city in Europe — and more than half of these companies are based in La Défense. In La Défense, Parisians might also discuss heartbreak from time-to-time, but it's more likely to be while rushing to the train and related to a drop in the CAC 40 stock index.

La Défense is more than just a cluster of skyscrapers full of suits, though. The district is built in a Modernist style that is particularly French with people completely separated from vehicular traffic, as well. The entire district straddles an expressway and a ring road in addition to a metro line, a regional train line, and a bus station, but when you're on foot in La Défense, you're elevated and largely separated from the noise and fumes of traffic.

No doubt, plenty of architecture critics would find much to complain about La Défense. Perhaps most notably, the primary plaza — the Parvis de la Défense — is a grossly oversized concrete slab and because La Défense has few residential highrises in the immediate area, it is sleepy in the evenings and often asleep altogether on the weekends. These are legitimate criticisms, but the current management organization, Defacto, should be praised particularly for their programming — which often supports the arts or encourages exercise — and makes good use of the awkward space. The concrete slab is not at all unpleasant during a concert, festival, or other event.

Even at its worst, though, La Défense is a much more pleasant experience on foot than, say, the Arc de Triomphe or the Place de la Concorde that tourists routinely visit. At its best, La Défense is a delightful walk. We're particularly fond of arriving at the Esplanade de La Défense metro station (one stop before the much larger La Défense Metro-RER station) and enjoying the reflecting pond art installation at the Esplanade de La Défense as well as strolling along the lovely Esplanade du Général de Gaulle. This area is a better walk than the Parvis de la Défense, and more like a modern version of a Parisian boulevard, complete with the trees and the cafés, but without the noisy vehicles and their fumes.

To eat in La Défense, there are a variety of global fast food joints in the gigantic Les Quatre Temps shopping mall — one of the largest malls in Europe — but when the weather is cooperative, we would instead suggest eating or drinking at one of the restaurants or bars on Esplanade du Général de Gaulle or around the corner on the also people-only Square des Corolles. One place in this area that we thought looked charming, wandered into, and enjoyed was simply named Le Bistrot à Vin. We later discovered that "Wine Bistro" was famous among locals in the area, but there are lots of places with lunch and after work drink specials priced for office workers rather than tourists. Don't be afraid to walk around and find your own favorite.

We would suggest going to La Défense during the week for lunch or an after work drink to see the district at its liveliest. Proper dinner options are sparse. Check the events calendar to see if any particular events of interest will be ongoing during your time in Paris, as well. We've mapped out our favorite walk below.

How to Get Here: Take Metro Line 1 toward La Défense. If you're just interested in the Grande Arche, it is closest to the aptly named La Défense — Grande Arche station. Take Exit 1 (Grande Arche). If you would like to follow our suggested walk, instead leave the train at Esplanade de La Défense station one stop before La Défense — Grande Arche. Esplanade de La Défense Exit 1 (Courbeovie — Quartier Iris) is most convenient. Note that the RER A line also connects to La Défense — Grande Arche, but it requires the purchase of a Zone 3 ticket, whereas Metro Line 1 only requires the purchase of a Zone 1-2 ticket, so it is simpler and a little less expensive to use the Metro. Our suggested walk is about 1.2 km (3/4 of a mile).

Cities > Paris > Paris Overlooked 7 > Next: (2) Walk the Original High Line... >>

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