You would think that with all of the times I have been to Paris, I would have visited Napoleon’s tomb and the army museum well before now. For some reason, there were always other priorities and I never got around to it. So glad that I did it this time and plan to go again the next time I am in Paris. There is so much to see there that it takes more than just one visit.
This was day two of the Hop On Hop Off Big Bus. Our group split up for the day as different people wanted to see different things. We arranged to meet up for dinner at 7:30pm. We all got on the bus at the same time and same place. We would just be getting off at different stops. Two of us stayed on the bus until the stop to visit the Hôtel des Invalides.
The stop was in the Parc du Champs de Mars behind the Eiffel Tower (on the other side from the Seine). We needed to walk through the park to the Military School and then angle over to the Avenue de Tourville to get to our destination. There was some major construction going on in the park, so we had to skirt around to our left instead of heading straight to the Military School. Once we reached the Dôme Church where the tomb was located, we found that the entrance to the entire complex was all the way around on the other side at the Place des Invalides. The entrance at the end we were was only open from 2pm to 6pm. We were definitely getting our exercise just to get into the place. We timed our walk to the spot where we passed by the Rodin Museum so we knew how long we would need to get back to where we had been dropped off.
At every site visited (including the boat ride the day before) everyone had to pass through a security check where any bags, backpacks and sometimes even purses, were opened and checked. Some locations also had metal detectors to pass through. Large bags and backpacks were not allowed and suitcases? Forget it. The churches that we visited (other than Notre Dame) were the only places where we could just walk right in.
After we passed through the security check at the entrance gate, we walked up to the entrance itself and purchased tickets to cover Napoleon’s tomb, the army museum, and the Rodin museum. Our plan was to do the military stuff in the morning and then see the Rodin sculptures after lunch.
We got the booklet showing what was where for the tomb and army museum and stepped aside to confer on our “plan of attack”. We quickly realized there was so much there that we needed to agree on what we wanted to see the most. Fortunately for us both, it was the tomb and the arms and armor 13th to 17th centuries. We figured that, if we had some extra time, we would also visit the Cathédrale Saint-Louis-des-Invalides, which is the national cathedral of the French military.
King Louis XIV had the complex built (1670–1676) to create a hospital and home for disabled and aged soldiers. The church and chapel were added in 1676. The Dôme is the tallest domed church in Paris.
On the 14th of July 1789, the Hôtel des Invalides was stormed by Parisian rioters who took the cannons and muskets stored in the cellar to use against the Bastille. It was after Napoleon Bonaparte was interred within the Royal Chapel of the Dôme des Invalides that the Dôme and the church had separate altars created as well as a glass wall placed between them.
The rest of the building continued to be a retirement home and hospital until the early 20th century when the military veterans were dispersed to other smaller facilities outside of Paris. Two existing museums were combined and moved into the space. There weren’t as many people with the twenty years or more service required for residence at the military hospital, so there was a lot of empty space.
We checked out a couple of the exhibits on the side of the museum we were on. Then we headed to the Dôme to spend some time visiting the tomb before heading to the other side of the museum. On our way, we saw an artillery gun much like those that Napoleon and his forces would have used at Saint Roch. I have a photo of that included with this post.
We needed to go all the way around to the main entrance of the Dôme church and then up the stairs. Once inside, we found it to be quite beautiful. The Tomb of Napoleon was created here in 1840 after his remains were returned to France from Saint Helena. I took several photos of it. Then we ventured down into the crypt to explore that area too. When we were done, we headed over to the arms and armor, which was in another wing of the museum.
This collection of ancient armor and weapons is quite amazing and makes this particular museum one of the three largest arms museums in the world. The #1 museum in this category is the Imperial War Museum in London. I have been there too. If you like the really old stuff, both the Tower of London and the New York City Metropolitan Museum have loads of wonderful armor on display. But this museum really takes the prize in the medieval armor category. They also have arms and armor from other countries and from the Renaissance and early modern periods.
Some of the really special pieces of armor included the Hounskull bascinet helmet (1350-1380). This had a lighter weight than earlier helmets and an open-faced design, which made it easier to see and breathe during combat. Important factors I would think.
There was a suit of armor that had lions carved upon it. It is believed to have belonged to François I (1494-1547). I can’t say that I have ever seen another suit of armor quite like it. There was also a suit of armor called the “armour of the Dauphin”, which supposedly belonged to the future Henri II (1519-1559). I have photos of all three of these included with this post.
We started off in the Salle Royale (the Royal Room) and walked around with our mouths open through pretty much the whole area. Then we realized that we had better get ourselves out of there, have some lunch and get to the Musée Rodin while we still had time before heading back to meet the last bus leaving the Parc du Champ de Mars.
The last photo I have included is of Napoleon’s camp tent setup. I would have also liked to have checked out the portion of the museum dedicated to Charles de Gaulle and World War II. I have a family member who was de Gaulle’s attaché at that time and wrote a book about it. Another good excuse to return to this wonderful museum.
Next time –A Great Lunch and Exploring the Musée Rodin
