Hôtel National des Invalides
The massive building that is the Hôtel National des Invalides or just Les Invalides (7th Arrondissement) was once only a church and convalescence but is now a grand building with a church, a mausoleum, and many museums, with most of them focused on the military affairs of France.
The building, or small town, was built originally by Louis XIV in the 17th Century for injured soldiers, hence Invalides.
Napoleon had attended military school nearby at the École Militaire. He was obviously a fan of his soldiers and would often celebrate his military victories in the esplanade outside les Invalides. He once showed off the guns he captured in 1803 from Vienna and a massive lion statue from Saint Mark’s Square in Venice.
Today, Les Invalides houses the Musée de l’Armée, Museum of Relief Maps, an exhibition spanning the two World Wars, Musée de l’order de la Libération, the Soldiers Church, and of course, Napoleon’s Mausoleum which holds his ashes in a red porphyry sarcophagus.
I haven’t stepped foot inside but I will next visit.
Next door to Les Invalides is Assemblée Nationale - Palais Bourbon which is where the lower house of the French Parliament meet. The building is decorated on the inside with paintings by Delecroix but a tour is by appointment only. It was built by the Bourbons, Louis the XV to be exact.
