Les Invalides History

In 1670 King Louis XIV founded a hospital for his invalid soldiers. Designed by Liberal Bruant,started in 1671 and finished in 1676. The hospital could house up to 4000 patients.

Design
The principal facade, which stretches on both sides of the immense semicircular-arched doorway, whose pilasters lie on statues of Mars and Minerva, Warring Valor and Armed Wisdom, by Guillaume Coustou. On the pediment there is a statue of Louis XIV on horseback, by the same Coustou a story with three large bay windows surmounts the main entrance. All of these openings are in the form of semicircular arches. The entrance is flanked by two doors under bulls'-eyes. The arch of the pediment, the tops of windows, and the bulls-eyes are adorned with garlands and cable molding. The sober blocks of buildings are given rhythm by the openings, the higher ones smaller than the lower arched bays on the ground floor and rectangular bays on the three higher floors. A cornice emphasizes the third, and gable windows adorned with sculpted weapons border the roof. Two pavilions frame the facade. In front of it lies a garden enclosed by ramparts a la Vauban, lined with 17th and 18th century cannon. Created by Robert de Cotte between 1704 and 1720, beyond the garden extends the large esplanade.

Peirced armor on display at Les Invalides

The Invalides
Beneath the dome lies two churches : One for the soldiers, and the other intended as a mausoleum for the king but now containing the mortal remains of Napoleon. The Esplanade leads from the Quai d'Orsay through a formal garden to the the majestic facade of Les Invalides. In an arch above the large central portal is an equestrian portrait of the Sun King supported by Prudence and Justice. Behind this is the splendid cour d'honneur which now houses the Army Museum in its north-west wing. Today, Les Invalides is a museum, monument and is used for military purposes.

Visitor Hours
The museum is open every day of the year except on January 1, May 1, November 1, and December 25, as well as the first monday of every month.

October to March 31: Open from 10 AM to 4 :45 PM,
April to September 30: Open from 10 AM to 5 :45 PM
June 15 to September 15: the Dome church including the Tomb of Napoleon I are open from 10 AM to 6 :45 PM

Fees :
Rates as of January 1st 2003

A ticket for the musee de l'Armee (Army Museum) offers visitors entrance to the museum and all temporary exhibitions, the Dome Church and the Tomb of Napoleon I, the museum of Relief Maps and the museum of the Order of the Liberation, also located in the Hotel national des Invalides.

Full rate : 6 E
Concessions : 4,5 E

Free for children under 12

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