The Mus̩e de l'Arm̩e РArmy Museum- Invalides

 

The Musée de l'Armée was created in 1905, by merging the Artillery Museum and the Historical Army Museum. It will celebrate its 100th birthday in 2005, with the reopening of the western wing, renovated under the ATHENA II project.

The Artillery Museum (created during the French Revolution and set in the Invalides in 1871) is, in itself, the heir of two of the most prestigious weapons collections : the collection of the "garde-meuble de la Couronne" and the Condé princes collections (Chantilly). From 1852, those two collections were placed in the Invalides, and enlarged with a series of collections coming, among others, from the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Louvre, the artillery in Vincennes, the Hôtel des Monnaies, the Pierrefonds castle, and from numerous acquisitions made during the colonial campaigns, or due to private bequests.

The Historical Army Museum was founded in 1896, by a society named "la Sabretache", whose president , the painter Edouard Detaille, wanted to create, from his own collections, a national military museum, the way the retrospective rooms at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1889 had been set.

Among the most prestigious collections of the museum, one can list the "ancient weapons and armours" one (the 3rd one in the world), the "artillery scale-models" one (quite unique) and an exceptional ensemble of exhibits, from the 19th century, related to Napoléon I and the marshals of the Empire, amongst others.

The Musée de l'Armée places itself among the greatest art and military history museums in the world. Its situation, at the heart of a military purposed monument, such as the Hôtel National des Invalides, offers an exceptional aspect. There are few military museums which can offer such a variety of exhibits and cover such large chronological periods.

Tomb of Napoléon

On May 5th 1821, Napoléon I passed away on the island of St Helena, where he had been in exile ever since 1815. He was buried close to a spring, in the shadows of a few weeping willows, in the "Geranium valley". His remains rested there until October 15th 1840. In 1840, King Louis-Philippe decided to transfer the body of the Emperor. French sails men, under the Prince de Joinville command, brought back the coffin to France, aboard the "Belle Poule" ship.

National funerals followed the return of the Emperor Napoléon I remains, transferred to the Invalides on December 15th 1840, while the tomb was being constructed. It was commissioned in 1842, by Louis-Philippe, to the architect Visconti (1791-1853), who made vast transformations by excavating largely the inside of the Dome church, to host the tomb. The body of the Emperor Napoléon I was laid there on April 2nd 1861.
The tomb, crafted in red porphyry from Russia, placed on a green granite base from the Vosges, is circled by a crown of laurels and inscriptions, reminders of the great victories of the Empire. In the round gallery, a series of low-relief, sculpted by Simart, represent the main actions of the reign. A statue of the Emperor, bearing the imperial emblems, was erected at the back of the crypt, above the tombstone under which the King of Rome lies.

The Dome Church also houses the sepultures of two of Napoléon's brothers, Jérôme and Joseph Bonaparte, Napoléon's son, the so-called eaglet, as well as the more recent ones of marshals Foch and Lyautey. The Musée de l'Armée is responsible for those.

Lodging

See the listing of the Hotels in Invalides area

Open every day of the year, except for the first Monday of every month, and January 1st, May 1st, November 1st and December 25th.
Open from 10:00 to 17:00, from October 1st to mars 31st,
and from 10:00 to 18:00, from April 1st to September 30st.

The Dome Church (Napoleon's tomb) is opened until 6.45 pm in July and in August.

The ticket offices closed 30mn prior to the closing time of the Museum.