Les Invalides

Hôtel des Invalides
Aerial view of Les Invalides
Map
Alternative namesLes Invalides, Musée de l'Armée
General information
TypeMuseum, church, hospital, retirement home, mausoleum
Architectural styleBaroque
LocationParis, France
Coordinates48°51′18″N 2°18′45″E / 48.85500°N 2.31250°E / 48.85500; 2.31250
Construction started1671
Completed1706
Inaugurated1678
Design and construction
Architect(s)Libéral Bruant
Jules Hardouin-Mansart

The Hôtel des Invalides (French pronunciation: [o.tɛl dez ɛ̃valid]; lit.'House of the Invalids'), commonly called Les Invalides (French pronunciation: [lez ɛ̃valid]; lit.'The Invalids'), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and an Old Soldiers' retirement home, the building's original purpose. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine. The complex also includes the former hospital chapel, now the national cathedral of the French military, and the adjacent former Royal Chapel known as the Dôme des Invalides, the tallest church building in Paris at a height of 107 meters.[1] The latter has been converted into a shrine of some of France's leading military figures, most notably the tomb of Napoleon.[2]

  1. ^ "Paris facts". Paris Digest. Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  2. ^ "Les tombeaux et monuments funéraires" (PDF). Musée de l'Armée.