After the attentats that struck Paris, I decided to go on a temporary hiatus. It is very difficult to write about life in Paris when almost every day is overshadowed by such extraordinary events. Two weeks after the events, the whole of France watched as President Hollande delivered his address to the nation, commemorating those who had been killed alongside some of the families involved. He made this address from Hôtel des Invalides, a place filled with military symbolism for France. Some people in France criticised the choice of location, the talk of being at war, and the politicisation of his actions. I feel ill-equipped to discuss the politics of the situation here, as I am not as well versed in French politics as I should be by now. I however, went to Les Invalides just before the attacks happened for a look around, and thought I would share a few things
Les Invalides is not one building, but a complex of different buildings including a museum, facilities for war veterans, a working church and the tomb of some dead guy - maybe you've heard of him? I think he's called Napoleon Bonaparte? Sound familiar?
The building was created by Louis XIV in 1670 as a hospital for sick or wounded french soldiers. This aspect of the complex is still in use today as part of the complex is home to Institution Nationale des Invalides, The french government agency in charge of caring for war veterans. The facilities include a home for wounded veterans, research into prostheses, and a hospital. More information can be found (in French) here.
There is lots of history to Les Invalides. In 1789, rioting Parisians took the cannons from the army stationed here to use against the Bastille. in 1840, Napoleon Bonaparte was entombed here. You can visit his tomb today. Enter from Place Vauban, and go to "Dôme des Invalides" (The Dome Church) where you can see the burial site of Napoleon, alongside many other important French military burials.
There is something very imposing about Dôme des Invalides. Perhaps this was partly because of the time that I was there. On the 11th of November, there is a national holiday in France for Armistice day, and just over one week later you could still see some flowers that had been left by President Hollande, albeit tucked away behind a pillar.
Napoleon's tomb is very impressive, surrounded by a guard of Caryatids and friezes detailing everything he did. He has friezes explaining the laws he made, the social changes he wrought, and the battles he won. The friezes talk about creating the Code Civil, increasing religious tolerance, and creating an empire for France.
Dôme des Invalides is not the only church in the complex. The Cathedral of Saint-Louis des Invalides was designed to be for everyday use. It contains many of the trophies taken by French armies throughout history, and it is still a working church today. Whilst there I saw it being prepared for a wedding.
Finally I went to the Musée de l'Armée. This museum is so big that I didn't get to see all of it. It contains suits of armour, scale models, and authentic equipment.
The most recent part of the museum is located in the basement. It is a gallery dedicated to life of General Charles De Gaul and utilises a lot of multimedia from the period, including photographs, radio speeches, and films. At the entrance to the gallery they give you a headset (which are available in many languages), and as you move around the headset automatically plays the relevant audio for the exhibit you are looking at. Unfortunately, aside from the fact that many parts were not yet available in translation, the headphones did not seem to work very well. They found it difficult to pick up the signal from exhibits, and often played the wrong piece of audio. Although much of it was very interesting, I became very frustrated with the technology failures and moved onto one of the more traditional parts of the museum.
The last thing I visited was the floor of campaigns from Louis XIV to Napoleon III. I have never seen so many swords in my life. There was even the taxidermied body of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's horses. To be honest, after wandering the corridors full of swords and guns for almost an hour, I was so overwhelmed that I had to go back outside. I didn't even get to see the section dedicated to items from the Middle Ages to 1643.
The Invalides complex is huge, and even though I spent a good few hours here, I didn't get to see anything. On my next visit I hope to go see some of the items from the Middle Ages as well as The Museum of Plans-Reliefs, a collection of historical models of fortified cities and campaigns carried out during the reigns of Louis XIV and Napoleon III. If anything the museum suffers from having so much content, that it can leave you feeling overwhelmed by information and artefacts.
There is quite a nice restaurant here, and the gift shop has some lovely souvenirs. I bought some christmas decorations to take home including a Napoleon to hang on my parents' Christmas Tree.
Overall, this is a brilliant museum, but don't try to do it in a rush. You need a whole day for this one. And if you've ever wanted to see Napoleon's famous hat, this is the place to do it. They have 5 on rotation, as we were informed repeatedly.
Helpful Information
The Army Museum is open every day.
The museum is located on Esplanade des Invalides side, 129 rue de Grenelle
Nearest Metro Stations are :
Prices
Les Invalides is not one building, but a complex of different buildings including a museum, facilities for war veterans, a working church and the tomb of some dead guy - maybe you've heard of him? I think he's called Napoleon Bonaparte? Sound familiar?
The building was created by Louis XIV in 1670 as a hospital for sick or wounded french soldiers. This aspect of the complex is still in use today as part of the complex is home to Institution Nationale des Invalides, The french government agency in charge of caring for war veterans. The facilities include a home for wounded veterans, research into prostheses, and a hospital. More information can be found (in French) here.
There is lots of history to Les Invalides. In 1789, rioting Parisians took the cannons from the army stationed here to use against the Bastille. in 1840, Napoleon Bonaparte was entombed here. You can visit his tomb today. Enter from Place Vauban, and go to "Dôme des Invalides" (The Dome Church) where you can see the burial site of Napoleon, alongside many other important French military burials.
There is something very imposing about Dôme des Invalides. Perhaps this was partly because of the time that I was there. On the 11th of November, there is a national holiday in France for Armistice day, and just over one week later you could still see some flowers that had been left by President Hollande, albeit tucked away behind a pillar.
Napoleon's tomb is very impressive, surrounded by a guard of Caryatids and friezes detailing everything he did. He has friezes explaining the laws he made, the social changes he wrought, and the battles he won. The friezes talk about creating the Code Civil, increasing religious tolerance, and creating an empire for France.
The most recent part of the museum is located in the basement. It is a gallery dedicated to life of General Charles De Gaul and utilises a lot of multimedia from the period, including photographs, radio speeches, and films. At the entrance to the gallery they give you a headset (which are available in many languages), and as you move around the headset automatically plays the relevant audio for the exhibit you are looking at. Unfortunately, aside from the fact that many parts were not yet available in translation, the headphones did not seem to work very well. They found it difficult to pick up the signal from exhibits, and often played the wrong piece of audio. Although much of it was very interesting, I became very frustrated with the technology failures and moved onto one of the more traditional parts of the museum.
The last thing I visited was the floor of campaigns from Louis XIV to Napoleon III. I have never seen so many swords in my life. There was even the taxidermied body of one of Napoleon Bonaparte's horses. To be honest, after wandering the corridors full of swords and guns for almost an hour, I was so overwhelmed that I had to go back outside. I didn't even get to see the section dedicated to items from the Middle Ages to 1643.
The Invalides complex is huge, and even though I spent a good few hours here, I didn't get to see anything. On my next visit I hope to go see some of the items from the Middle Ages as well as The Museum of Plans-Reliefs, a collection of historical models of fortified cities and campaigns carried out during the reigns of Louis XIV and Napoleon III. If anything the museum suffers from having so much content, that it can leave you feeling overwhelmed by information and artefacts.
Overall, this is a brilliant museum, but don't try to do it in a rush. You need a whole day for this one. And if you've ever wanted to see Napoleon's famous hat, this is the place to do it. They have 5 on rotation, as we were informed repeatedly.
Helpful Information
The Army Museum is open every day.
- 1 April to 31 October: Monday to Sunday, 10 am to 6 pm
- 1 November to 31 March: Monday to Sunday, 10 am to 5 pm
The museum is located on Esplanade des Invalides side, 129 rue de Grenelle
Nearest Metro Stations are :
- La Tour Maubourg station, line 8
- Invalides station, line 8
- Varennes station, line 13
- Invalides station, RER C
- Saint François-Xavier station, line 13
Prices
- Full price: €9,5
- Reduced price: €7,5
- The Museum ticket includes admission to:
- the Army Museum's permanent collections
- the Dome Church and tomb of Napoleon I
- the Charles de Gaulle Monument
- the Museum of Relief Maps
- the Museum of the Order of the Liberation (closed for work until June 2014)
- there is reduced price admission for everyone, every day from 5 pm in summer and 4 pm in winter, as well as Tuesday nights
- Under 26s from EU states may enter free of charge.
For more information see the website here www.musee-armee.fr
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