Les Invalides

     Wow. Where do I even start? Napoleon's final resting place. A hall dedicated to swords. One of Napoleon's horses that he had preserved. Les Invalides is a highly interesting little place. 
     Originally started by King Louis XIV as a hospital and short-term living place for aging and injured soldiers, construction on Les Invalides was started in 1670 by the architect Liberal Bruant and it was inaugurated in 1679. It holds on of the "greatest triumphs of French Baroque architecture" in its famous golden dome, which was inspired by St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, Italy. Many historical events have taken place here; muskets and cannons were taken by French Revolutionists one morning to use against the Bastille later that day, in 1840, Napoleon was entombed here, and in 1894 the degradation of Alfred Dreyfus was held in the main building. Needless to say, this place is not just a hospital anymore; it is a museum dedicated to the military history of France. 

      The above picture is of Napoleon Bonaparte's sarcophagus, one of the most famous military leaders of all time who changed the face of Europe forever by his military campaigns. I have to say that I wasn't really prepared to see this. You can think that you are ready to see something of this magnitude, but it's kind of hard to comprehend right in the moment. It's so strange to think that someone who had such an impact on the modern world is buried right out in the open, and I was only 20 feet away from him. All around the dome is the burial place of many military leaders of France, including some members of Napoleon's family and many officers that served with him. There is an awesome alter at the front of the chapel that shows the spirit of Louis XIV and his love for gold. Ex:

     Since the whole museum is a huge place, I decided to focus on two main parts: World War I & II and the Napoleon sections. There are SO many well preserved uniforms from all the different countries involved in the conflicts in Les Invalides. It was pretty awesome to see what someone from Austria was wearing in World War I, and they even had an entire section dedicated to American military uniforms from World War I. They make it really interactive by showing visual, moving maps of different battles and campaigns and also having many television sets showing short, informational movies about the wars. They also have quite the collection of artillery, and it was cool to see the progression that technology went through just from World War I to World War II. In WWI, they were using bayonets and small rifles, but in WWII, they were using big guns and tanks. Funny what a difference 30 years make in weapons technology. Speaking of technology, the audio guides here were pretty great; they were iPod touches that you just keyed numbers in to listen to different segments. It was very user friendly and didn't weigh a ton like some of the other ones we've used. 

A high ranking soldier's uniform from World War I

     After we had spent quite a while in the World Wars section, we headed over to the French Revolution and Napoleon section. Least favorite part? It took us a good fifteen minutes to find because they were doing construction on the building, so it made finding the entrance a nightmare. Once we finally found where we were going, it was definitely worth it. Looking at all these rooms dedicated to Napoleon, his successors, and those that helped him achieve his goals was highly enjoyable. It seems to me that Napoleon rivaled Louis XIV in his estimation of himself, and this is not an easy feat. Haha. There are paintings, sculptures, and exhibitions dedicated to the famous little man. Even one of the horses he rode has been stuffed and is on exhibition.. Talk about vain. But it makes for a good museum visit, so I'm okay with it. 

     This is definitely a place I would recommend if you were visiting Paris, and I think that probably almost an entire day would need to be taken to see all of the many war exhibits. And finally, to really give you the true spirit of what Napoleon was, I will leave you with this fine quote: "France has more need of me than I have need of France" -Napoleon Bonaparte.

-Samantha Tosh