Avenue Victor Hugo
When you have managed to climb up the stairs of l'Arc de Triomphe and are standing on the roof facing Avenue des Champs-Elysées, turn a little more than 90 degrees to your right and you will see the Avenue Victor-Hugo. Should you have performed the same maneuvre 70 years ago, chances are you would have been gazing at the face of the poet himself. During the occupation the Nazis tore down the statue that was erected on the Place Victor-Hugo during the centennial celebrations - it was probably turned into bombs and shells.
To be honest, there is not much Hugo about the street any more, besides the name. The house at no 120 where he lived for the last 7-8 years of his life was made into a museum and opened to the public in 1889 but it closed after a year. Some of the remains from the house was moved to Maison de Victor Hugo in Place des Vosges and the house itself was torn down in 1907. The building standing in its place does however have a relief of the poet looking down at the entrance.
Yet, it is Avenue Victor-Hugo and he did live there. In 1878, when he moved in, it was Avenue d'Eylau in commemoration of the battle in 1807 when 20,000 Frenchmen had died. In 1881, when Paris - and most of France, celebrated Hugo in entering his eightieth year, it was renamed Avenue Victor-Hugo and the crossing got the name Place Victor-Hugo.
If nothing else, you should visit Avenue Victor-Hugo just to get a picture of yourself by the street sign. But it is also a nice area; a bit more quiet than the jam-packed Champs-Elysées, with chic boutiques and some good wine shops. The perfect Sunday stroll is to start at no 120, walk pass the Place Victor-Hugo, pause at l'Arc de Triomphe and then continue along the Champs-Elysées and finish at the Jardin des Tuileries and the Louvre.
