Hôtel des Invalides
- Invalides, 75007
- Métro 8, 13: Invalides
- Adults: 12 €, children: free of charge
- Accessible to people with disabilities
The entrance to the Hôtel des Invalides for minors and adults aged 18 – 25, citizens of the European Union, is free of charge upon demonstration of ID or passport.
Invalides_In memory of all those who died for France
The Invalides or Hôtel National des Invalides is a complex of baroque buildings in the 7th arrondissement which includes monuments and museums devoted to the military history of the French nation.
Among other, here is home of the amazing War Museum of France (Musée de l’Armée), the Musée d’Histoire Contemporaine, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs and the magnificent royal chapel Église du Dôme .
Invalides are also the place where great French heroes of war are buried. There is also the sarcophagus Napoleon Bonaparte.
Some history
Louis I was the one who had the idea for the construction of this convent to serve as a shelter and hospital for veterans of the war.
The architect of Invalides was the Libéral Bruant, who completed the project in 1676 .
When the inner courtyard of the complex was completed (cour d’honneur), veterans asked for a church to perform their religious duties. This is how the chapel Saint-Louis des Invalides was created. The famous chapel is desinged by Jules Hardouin Mansart.
Later, Louis asked the same architect to build a second church inside the complex, Église du Dôme. This magnificent church is inspired by the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome, a typical Baroque architecture.
The construction was completed in 1708.
In a later period, Napoleon wishing to honor the French heroes of war, will use the vault of Invalide as a military pantheon. Therefore, the corpses of great French generals were transfered to Invalides.
Napoleon’s sarcophagus
The most famous sarcophagus hosted in the Église du Dôme is that of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821).
Napoleon’s corpse is enclosed inside coffins, with each coffin nesting inside the other, like a Russian doll Babushka .
Originally, Napoleon was buried in the church of Saint Helena, but Louis Philippe arranged to transport his corpse to the chapel of Saint Jerome.
In 1861, Napoleon’s corpse was transferred to Invalides.
Many members of Napoleon’s family have been buried there, such as Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), his older brother and Jérôme Bonaparte (1784 – 1860), his younger brother, etc.
With the Paris Pass, you have free access to all of Paris’s major museums and attractions.
The list includes more than 60 museums, and one bus tour in Paris. Along with the Paris Pass you will receive a card Paris Visite for your transportation to Paris, maps and a travel guide.