Next up in our circuit and heading away from the Arc south by east is the Avenue d'Iéna. Since the Tour Eiffel sits pretty much due south of the Arc, that puts it just to the right of the avenue's path.

The avenue runs for 1.14km down to the Trocadéro area, which sits right across the Seine River from the Eiffel Tower. As I mentioned elsewhere in this gallery, that name comes from a battle in Spain to keep the Spanish Bourbons on the throne there. It's the same general area as the previous street (the Avenue Kléber) terminates in. Like many of the streets radiating out from the Arc it's 36 metres wide.

The name of the avenue itself may seem a tad obscure, even to those who are familiar with the Napoleonic period. (As am I, despite the occasional sarky comment in this gallery about how many places in Paris are named after Napoleonic battles.)

This name is based on one as well, though indirectly. It was named after the Pont d'Iéna, a bridge that runs from the Trocadéro across the Seine toward the Eiffel Tower. That bridge was in turn named after an 1806 battle against the Prussians which is better known in English as the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt, or just the Battle of Jena. The battle put Prussia under French control until the 6th Coalition of 1813 which was the beginning of the end of the first Napoleonic reign. Prominent figures on the Austrian side at the battle were Gebhard von Blücher, who played a prominent role at the Battle of Waterloo 9 years later, and Carl von Clausewitz who wrote a highly influential military textbook named "On War". It was unfinished when he died, which makes me suspect that he tried to read it and the turgid, convoluted language made him die of boredom. I know that the damn thing almost did that to me when I tried to read it.

So, is there anything famous or historical about this avenue? Not so much, no. There are a couple of embassies down the road (as there always are down roads like these), and the writer Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) had a flat around here. However that was 20 years before the Avenue became the Avenue, and 185 years before Amazon debased the value of writing by churning out $0.79 novels. Good luck making a living from writing now if you aren't JK Rowling; exceptional luck if you want to get a place in the centre of a city based on your earnings as a writer... especially this one.

I shall however draw your attention to the large tower on the left, the visibility of which will depend on the scale at which you are viewing this shot. That is the 60 floor, 210-metre Montparnasse Tower which was the tallest skyscraper in France from its construction in 1969 until 2011. Also depending on the scale, you may be able to see the golden Dôme des Invalides from the army museum to the tower's left.