Musée de l'Armée - Hôtel des Invalides

Set on the Left Bank of the Seine, the golden dome of the Hôtel National des Invalides, which holds Napoleon I’s tomb, is a landmark on the Paris skyline.

This exceptional heritage site, originally built by Louis XIV to house war veterans, used to be home to 6,000 soldiers. It is now one of the biggest museums of art and military history in the world with a permanent collection of more than 500,000 military objects and artefacts.

From medieval knights to the Resistance

The Army Museum’s permanent collection encompasses military history from the Middle Ages to the present day. Children will love seeing the suits of armour, helmets and knightly weapons. Older visitors, meanwhile, will be interested to learn how Louis XIV and Louvois, his war minister, created the first modern army. You can follow the epic saga of Napoleon Bonaparte through displays of emblematic objects that belonged to him, like his famous bicorn hat, and his majestic portrait, painted by Ingres in 1806.

The museum offers a deeply comprehensive overview of General de Gaulle, the head of government-in-exile Free France, with dedicated multimedia exhibits, a biographical film, audioguides and interactive maps. In fact, an entire section is dedicated to the two World Wars, covering everything from daily life at the front to the work of the French Resistance. Artefacts include dresses from the 1940s and soldiers’ postcards home – you can even see a Marne Taxi cab, which transported soldiers to the front in 1914.

Fun and interactive

The museum is a perfect destination for families. To encourage children to learn while having fun, numerous activities are on offer alongside the permanent collections: investigation games transform visitors, from 7 and up, into budding detectives; there are visits led by storytellers; multimedia guides offer five different itineraries; while fun catalogues with games are available in French and English.

Make sure to pick up a tablet when you enter the museum – or download the smartphone application – to follow in the footsteps of Louis XIV, learn all you need to know about armaments or listen to the speeches of General de Gaulle.

Twice a year, temporary exhibitions are held dedicated to themes around warfare and accompanied by a special cultural programme. To round off the day, take a relaxing – and delicious – break at the café-restaurant Le Carré des Invalides! In the summer, its terrace on the Place Vauban at the foot of the Invalides dome is a delight.

Discover the Army Museum through one of the treasure hunts in the Paris Region Adventures application specially designed for families and downloadable free of charge.