One of my favorite scenes in A Little Romance takes place at the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, the smaller triumphal arch that stands between the Louvre and the Tuileries Garden.
Released in 1979, A Little Romance starred Diane Lane in her film debut as an American teenager living in Paris. Like many viewers, I was charmed by the film. Diane Lane was intelligent, beautiful, spoke fluent French, and seemed perfectly at home in a city that already held a special place in my imagination.
In the scene, the young characters arrange to meet at the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and make a point of distinguishing it from the much larger and more famous Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. For most viewers, it is a passing moment. For me, it was not.
Something about that small arch lodged itself in my memory.
The Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel stands just west of the Louvre. Commissioned by Napoleon, it was built between 1806 and 1808 to commemorate his victories of 1805, especially the Battle of Austerlitz. Its larger cousin, the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile, was begun the same year but not completed until 1836.
The larger arch is grander. It has witnessed some of the most important moments in French history, and I still feel a sense of awe every time I stand beneath it.
Yet it is the smaller arch that captured my heart and never let go.
Framed by the Louvre on one side and the Tuileries on the other, it feels less like a monument and more like a gateway into the Paris of the imagination.
I make a point of visiting whenever I return to the city.
The film itself remains charming nearly fifty years after its release, but the arch has outlasted the movie in my imagination. It reminds me that our attachment to places is often shaped by unexpected things — a scene in a film, a passing moment, or a memory that refuses to fade.
For me, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel will always be one of the gateways to Paris.