Louis XIV built Les Invalides in the 1670s as a hospital and retirement home for wounded soldiers — a radical idea for its time. Its golden dome now shelters Napoleon's tomb, a sarcophagus of red quartzite so large it had to be assembled inside the crypt, ringed by the tombs of French marshals and topped by one of the most photographed skylines in Paris.
- The Musée de l'Armée inside covers French military history from medieval armor to World War II
- Napoleon's tomb sits under the dome in a sunken circular crypt — walk the balcony above to see it from every angle
- The building is still a working military hospital in part, alongside the museum galleries
- Hours
- 10:00–18:00 (until 17:00 in winter), dome closed some Mondays
- Price
- €16, free under 18
- Tip
- Buy the combined ticket — it covers the dome, the army museum, and the Charles de Gaulle exhibit in one entry.
Nearby
- M Musée Rodin · museum
- E Eiffel Tower · landmark
- C Champ de Mars · park