Paris Weekend Break

Les Invalides

Les Invalides is actually a collection of several buildings on the left bank of the river Seine in what is known as the seventh arrondissement (of which there are 20) in Paris. It is almost a small city and once housed up to four hundred people.

Most of theses buildings have some connection with France's military exploits and they include a church, a hospital, a museum, some monuments and most famously the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte.

Boneparte's remains were brought to Saint Jerome's chapel in 1840, but only placed under the dome at Les Invalides in 1861 after the building had been renovated. They remain there today.

Les Invalides history

Les Invalides started life as a military hospital in the late seventeenth century and translates to “the invalids”. The term was used to describe the old, injured and maimed soldiers who sought treatment and lived in this early example of state welfare – one created by King Louis XIV.

By 1679 the Les Invalides complex has enlarged to include a soldiers chapel (Eglise Saint Louis des Invalides) and an additional royal chapel (Eglise de Dome) in the Baroque style.

The interior dome of this royal chapel features artwork by Charles de la Fosse and was completed in 1705. This building is the most dominant of the Les Invalides complex.

Tombs of the sons of France

Many tourists choose to visit Les Invalides in order to see the tomb of Napoleon Bonaparte which lies under the elaborate painted dome, but most are unaware that there are also tombs of Bonaparte's brothers and son in the same area.

A number of French marshals, up to the time of the second World War, are also interned along with Napoleon and the vaults below hold the bodies of a multitude of Generals, Admirals and Marhalls.

An interesting point is that, despite the former Emperor's internment in a hospital complex, no attempt has ever been made to remove some of his DNA and discover once and for all if he really was poisoned by his guards whilst in British custody.