Champs-Élysées to be given makeover before Paris Olympic Games

World's most beautiful avenue' in French capital will undergo urgent cosmetic changes after years of decline

On paper and in urban legend, the Champs-Elysees is the most beautiful avenue in the world. For the last 30 years, however, Parisians have lamented the slow decline of the capital's famous street.

The pavements flanking what is now an eight-lane highway used by an average 3,000 vehicles an hour have become an obstacle course of uneven paving stones and electricity cables and a hotchpotch of restaurant, bar, cafe and brasserie terraces of all shapes, sizes and colours.