Les Invalides originally functioned as a hospital and long-term care/retirement facility for veterans.
While sections of the building complex have been converted to a military museum, the remaining sections are still being used for its original purpose. We saw a number of patients convalescing in the courtyard gardens.
The security for Les Invalides was particularly stringent, likely due to the presence of veterans.
I don't know why but these conical shrubs make me smile.
Cour d'honneur
In the background, the golden dome of Napoleon's tomb.
The museum is divided into sections, organized by time periods.
Our first stop: Louis XIV to Napoleon III
For a fan of weapons and military history, this was their heaven.
Me, not so much.
To be honest, I didn't look through the collection too carefully, having had to go all the back to the museum entrance to get a museum map. (They should really have maps available at each section entrance. Would have saved me from so many, many stairs. Not fun.)
Dome Church of Les Invalides
Napoleon is not the only one to be buried here (although he is certainly the star attraction).
The tomb of his brother Joseph Bonaparte (below) is also here.
Tomb of Napoleon
The actual sarcophagus contains six layers, of different materials, with the outermost layer being red porphyry. The coffin is surrounded by twelve figures of Victory, each representing a different battle campaign.
Statue of Napoleon
After the Tomb of Napoleon, our small group split up.
Two of us went to visit the nearby Rodin Museum while the military-aficionado stayed behind to see the rest of the Army Museum. I kind of regret doing so since the Rodin Museum was somewhat disappointing (the main building was closed due to renovations).
That regret grew after checking out the Army Museum's website. There are some pieces in the collections I'd love to have seen, such as the Enigma machine from WWII, beautifully crafted suits of armour from various periods and regions, including one for emperor Qianlong, and fantastically ornate swords, just to name a few.
I'm surprised that this happened to super-planner-you didn't know about the army museum's collection before you left home! But don't worry, it's just an excuse to go back to Paris! Not that anyone needs an excuse.
ReplyDeleteNapo's tomb is insane! How much taxpayer money went into the construction (and maintenance) of that, do you think? Haha. Beautiful though!
You and me both. I knew about the museum's WWI and WWII collections but didn't know about the other artifacts, especially the armours. When we entered the museum, we should have turned left instead of right. We ended up visiting the Napoleonic section first, which was up three flights of stairs and wasn't too impressive (dimly lit, with lots of period guns in glass enclosures).
DeleteImagine building a monument like that now. How much would that cost, do you think? At least a quarter of a billion dollars, no?