Invalides and Surrounding Attractions
The Invalides neighborhood merges with the Eiffel Tower area on the
west and Saint Germain-de -Pres on the East. It is delightful neighborhood to
walk, offering two great museums and the final resting place of
Napoleon.
(7th arrondissement) (L) -
The grand museum of the Impressionists and post-Impressionist
artists is housed in the former
d'Orsay train station. This well designed museum provides an
excellent venue for the masterpieces of the many of the leading Impressionists
(e.g. Manet, Degas, Monet, Cézanne, Renoir, and Sisley).
Post-Impressionists are represented by Gauguin, Van Gogh, Seurat and
other notable masters. The d'Orsay also has fine collections of
sculptures, photographs and the graphic arts.
If you like art, the d’Orsay is a must see.
The d'Orsay's finished a major renovation in 2011. The viewing
rooms have been redesigned and the museum's layout has been
streamlined making seeing the art very efficient and easy to
process. However, your time here will pass
quickly, as the collection has many famous works that will
undoubtedly attract your attention. You should allot two
to three hours to view
the highlights of these collections. For more information, visit the museum's
official website. Closed on Mondays.
(7th arrondissement) (L) -
Located on the east side of Boulevard Des Invalides
at 79, rue de Varenne, this museum has
the world's best collection of Rodin's sculptures and houses his
personal art collection.
The museum's Sculpture Garden is very
enjoyable and the collection is magnificent. The museum's
official website can be found
here. Closed Mondays, the Musée Rodin is open from 10
a.m. to 5:45 p.m. and the last tickets are sold at 5:15. The
Garden closes at 5:00.
The Museum is closed on January 1, May 1 and December 25.
(7th
arrondissement) (R) -
The Invalides is a complex of buildings that include several museums
and l'Eglise de St. Louis des Invalides. The St Louis des Invalides
Church is tall, capped with an impressive drum and an ornate,
gilded dome.
The Eglise contains the graves of many of France's military
heroes, but is noted for the a rotunda with an open crypt that
houses the sarcophagus and remains of Napoleon I. Napoleon
died in 1821 during his exile on the isle of St. Helena and his body
was returned to Paris in 1840. The internment ceremony in the Eglise
de Saint Louis did not occur until twenty-years later.
Although when viewed from the gallery the sarcophagus appears to
be made of cherry, you can see from the ground level that it is a
finely polished red granite (some say from Russia, others from
Finland) on a pedestal of green granite (which was quarried in the
Vosges Mountains of France.) The sarcophagus is reputed to contain
several nested layers to protect the remains of France's most
well-known soldier. The inlays in the floor surrounding the
sarcophagus memorialize Napoleon's
victories in battles across Europe.
Saint Louis des Invalides is open Mondays through Saturdays
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. year around and slightly later in summer and
on Sundays.
Behind the
church, the former home for invalid soldiers (the Hotel des
Invalides), built by Louis XIV, is
now a military museum. See the museum's
official web
site for more detail (the website is in French, so use
Google Translator if you do not read French).
Closed the first Monday of the month, except in July, August and
September, the facility is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. most of the
year and an hour later from April to the end of September.
