Arche de la Defense, or more popularly known as the Grande Arche in Paris, is one of the modern landmarks created in the French capital. This enormous structure was created as a modern version of the Arc de Triomphe. Situated in the business district of France, this gigantic landmark was created during the term of French President Francois Mitterrand. Since its completion in 1989-90, this massive landmark of concrete, marble, glass and steel has become one of the top 10 attractions in Paris.

The Arche de la Defense is a 20 ^{th century representation of Arc de Triomphe, which is a symbol of triumph of humanity rather than military success, is designed by Johann Otto von Spreckelsen of Denmark. The chief engineer of the project was Erik Reitzel. The Danish architect, however, died before the completion of his masterpiece. After Spreckelsen's death, the project was overseen by his partner Paul Andreu. The Grande Arche was built by Bouygues, a French construction company. Although the landmark was not yet complete, it was inaugurated in July 1989, seven years after the start of its construction and in time for the bicentenary celebration of the French revolution.}

The location of the Arche de la Defense was specially chosen so that it would form a secondary axis with Tour Montparnasse and Tour Eiffel, the highest buildings in the French capital. Some people think that the Grand Arche, which is at an angle of 6.33 degrees, is a bit peculiar. In fact, there have been a lot of theories as to why the architect designed this structure this way. Some say that the particular angle was created in order to provide symmetry with Louvre, which is similarly angled. The design of this modern landmark is nearly a perfect cube, with a height of 110 m, width of 108 m, and a depth of 112 m.

Arche de la Defense is often considered as a tesseract. The arc is framed with Carrara marble shipped from Italy and glass. The structure itself is made from pre-stressed concrete. These materials are used in order to give the Grande Arche an ultra modern feel. Tourists, escorted into the roof of the structure, can get an uninterrupted view of the entire capital of France from on top of the Grande Arche de la Fraternite, which is another name for this arc. By the way, the roof section of this landmark is used as an exhibition center of Stephane Cherki, while the two sides are utilized as offices of several government agencies.

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