About the city
La Defense is a major business district for the city of Paris bordering Neuilly-sur-Seine, west of the city itself. It is centered in an oval freeway loop straddling the Hauts-de-Seine department and the municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux.
La Defense is named for the statue, La Defense de Paris, which was built in 1883 to commemorate the soldiers who had defended Paris during the Franco-Prussian War. The name of the area sometimes causes confusion with visitors, who occasionally assume it is some kind of military zone or establishment.
The district is at the westernmost extremity of Paris’ 10-km long Historical Axis, which starts at the Louvre in Central Paris and continues along the Champs-Elysée, well beyond the Arc de Triomphe before culminating at La Defense.