La Défense is a district of high-rise offices, apartment blocks and shopping complexes over part of the communes of Nanterre, Suresnes and Puteaux (all in the Hauts-de-Seine département), to the west of Paris.
It is named for a statue, La Défense de Paris, commemorating the defence of Paris in the Franco-Prussian War. The name of the area sometimes causes confusion with foreigners, who assume it has something to do with the military.
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The image shows the plaza looking to the East (towards Paris). The first building on the left is the CNIT (Centre des nouvelles industries et technologies). |
As part of the project to complete the Axe historique, a large monument, the Grande Arche, was built at the western end of the district.
At the western end is a large transport interchange, built around and over the railway station which predates the modern development. It includes a bus station, the terminus of the T1 tram line, a station on RER line A, and the terminus of Line 1 of the Paris Metro, "La Défense (Grande Arche)". Line 1 also has a station at the eastern end nearer to Paris, "Esplanade de La Défense".
