a question I’ve always had about the public image of Paris

Here’s NBA Commissioner David Stern, talking about the possibility of an NBA division in Europe 10 years from now:

“I think we’ll have a division and I think the Heat will play in Boston one night and then they’ll go to Paris and spend a couple days on the Champs-Elysées shopping and relaxing,” Stern said

One thing I’ve simply never understood is why the Champs-Elysées is usually the first or second obligatory thing that must be mentioned when speaking loosely of Paris. As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a big, ugly, noisy street where I would only go if specifically needing to buy something that was known to be for sale there. And this is Paris we’re talking about, Queen of World Cities. You can do much better than always mentioning a big, ugly, noisy street that is definitely not a place for “relaxing”, contra Commissioner Stern.

Is it just me, or is the Champs-Elysées maybe in about 47th place on the list of things to do while in Paris?