Paris Invalides Museums

Esplanades des Invalides, 7 ème . Invalides or Saint François-Xavier. ☎01 44 42 37 72; www.invalides.org. All open M and W-Su Apr.-Sept. 10am-6pm, Oct.-Mar. 10am-5pm; Tu 10am-9pm. Last ticket sales 30min. before close. Closed first M of the month. Buy tickets to all museums in the building’s southeast corridor, to the left when facing dome from pl. Vauban. Admission to all museums €8, students under 26 €6, under 18 free. Tu after 5:30pm €6, under 26 free. Audioguide for Napoleon’s Tomb included (€1 supplement for free ticket holders). MC/V.

In 1670, Louis XIV decided to “construct a royal home, grand and spacious enough to receive all old or wounded officers and soldiers.” Architect Libéral Bruand’s building accepted its first invalides in 1674, and veterans still live on the grounds today. Of course, for all his beneficence toward the wounded soldiers, Louis XIV requested the Dome Church have two separate entrances so that he could attend mass without mingling with, well, the masses. Jules Hardouin-Mansart provided the final design for the imposing double chapel. The restoration monarch, Louis-Philippe, had Napoleon’s remains returned to the French as a political move in 1840, but it wasn’t until the reign of Napoleon’s nephew, Louis-Napoleon, that the mosaic floor of the Église du Dôme was destroyed to build the huge, circular crypt for Napoleon I.

Completed in 1861, Napoleon’s tomb consists of six concentric coffins, made of materials ranging from mahogany to lead. The tomb is viewed first from a round balcony above it, forcing everyone who visits to bow down to the emperor even in his death; this delighted Adolf Hitler on his visit to Paris in 1940. Names of significant battles are engraved in the marble floor surrounding the coffins; oddly enough, Waterloo isn’t there. Bas-reliefs recall Napoleon’s institutional reforms of law and education, portraying him as a Roman emperor in a toga and laurels. Upstairs, a display case holds the hat and grey coat that defined Napoleon’s actual wardrobe. His only child (Napoleon divorced his beloved Josephine to marry Marie-Louise of Austria), titled King of Rome and Duke of Reichstadt, was buried near him after succumbing prematurely to tuberculosis. Six chapels dedicated to different saints lie off the main room and harbor the tombs of French Marshals and Napoleon’s brothers. In 1989, the 107m high Église du Dôme was regilded, making the glorious Hôtel des Invalides the only monument in Paris to glint with real gold—12kg of gold, to be exact. The Athena project, undertaken over a decade ago and with no deadline in sight, aims to restore the entire building complex for public visitation.

Musée De L’Armée. The Musée de l’Armée celebrates French military history. It lies in two wings on opposite sides of the Invalides’s main cobblestone courtyard, the Cour d’Honneur. The West Wing (Aile Occident) is filled almost exclusively with French armor from medieval times onward (including that of some of France’s more powerful kings), along with a variety of Asian metal and a 20th-century exhibit. The East Wing (Aile Orient) is more well-rounded, with uniforms, maps, royal ordinances, medals, and portraits in addition to armor, focusing on the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Beautiful sets of Chinese and Japanese armor provide a fascinating contrast with the Western displays.

Musée Des Deux Guerres Mondiales. Opened in 2005, this museum in the West Wing features a chronological presentation on the World Wars. Focusing on the historical context, socio-political triggers, and technological developments, of the Wars, the collection includes uniforms, weapons, videos, interactive maps, and propaganda.

Musée Des Plans-Reliefs. Housed in a dimly-lit attic-like room, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs is a collection of about 20 models of fortified cities from 1668 to 1870. Citadels, châteaux, and entire areas of the French countryside are intricately modeled and displayed beside aerial photographs of the land today to show interesting comparisons. Highlights include the surreal Mont-St-Michel and Fort Paté, which does in fact resemble its namesake.

Musée De L’Ordre De La Libération. Just beyond the West Wing of the Musée de l’Armée, this museum tells the story of those who fought for the liberation of France during WWII. A diverse collection of de Gaulle-related paraphernalia is complemented by tributes to the Résistance fighters of Free France. Radio broadcasts, video footage, and newspaper clippings immerse the visitor in the era. On the top floor, sketches of concentration camp prisoners provide a moving glimpse into their lives and personalities.