Hôtel des Invalides - The Army Museum

Created in 1905 by the merging of the artillery museum with the historic army museum, the army museum was one of the very first in the world and today houses the largest museum collection of military history in France. Established in the hôtel national des Invalides, a prestigious 17th century building commissioned by King Louis XIV to house injured soldiers, convalescents and invalids, the army museum brings together numerous masterpieces of military art from medieval times to present day, most notably a collection of weapons and armour, reduced-scale models of artillery and a rich collection of portraits and battle scenes, as well as historic souvenirs and army uniforms from the Old Regime up to the two world wars of the 20th century. Two religious monuments are attached to the army museum: the church of Saint Louis des Invalides, whose vault is adorned with French military trophies and the church of Eglise du Dôme, which houses the tomb of Emperor Napoleon the First. The museum is currently the subject of a modernisation programme called Athéna, with work to be completed in 2009. The first part was finished on the 18th of June 2000, with the inauguration of the wing dedicated to the Second World War.

Following its renovation, the museum's Eastern wing has been open to the public since the 1st of July 2006, displaying collections from Saint Louis to Louis XIII and from the 3rd Republic until 1938,. The 3rd phase of the ATHENA project will run from 2005 until 2009 and is dedicated to the reorganization of the east wing (2005-2007) and the installation of teaching and themed spaces, as well as workshops (2007-2009).
This historic monument, owned by the Ministry of Defence, belongs to the Culture & Defence protocol signed on the 17th of September 2005. Click here for a list of other buildings...
Address: Musée de l'armée Hôtel national des Invalides 129, rue de Grenelle 75007 Paris 7ème Phonenumber : 01.44.42.38.77 e-mail: comm-ma@invalides.org Opening times (Ticket desks close half an hour before): From the 1st of April until the 30th of September inclusive, from 10 am until 6 pm The Eglise du Dôme is open until 6.30 pm on Sundays From the 1st of October until the 30th of March inclusive, from 10 am until 5 pm The Eglise du Dôme is open until 5.30 pm on Sundays From the 15th of June until the 15th of September inclusive, the Eglise du Dôme is open until 7 pm. Closed : on the first Monday of every month, except in July, August and September when the museum is open every day without exception and the 1st of January, the 1st of May, the 1st of November and the 25th of December. Timetable: Open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. from the 1st October to the 31st March, and from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. from the 1st of April to the 30th of September The museum is closed on the 1st of January, the 1st of May, the 1st of November and the 25th of December, as well as the first Monday of every month, except during the summer period (July-August-September) during which it is open every day. Transports: Underground : Latour-Maubourg, Invalides, Varenne Bus : 28/49/63/69/82/83/87/92 Tariffs: Individual rate: 9 € Group rates and reduced price: € 7 Group of 10 persons and reservations 01 44 42 43 87 Free for residents and nationals of the European Union under 26 years Services: The Army Museum offers audio guides to accompany your visit to the Eglise du Dôme, which houses the tomb of Napoleon the First. All ticket holders (at full or reduced rate) have free access to a multilingual audio-guide service. Visitors who qualify for free entry can pay for this service (0.50 €). Summary: Reduced rate: students under 26 years old, ex-servicemen, holders of the large family card, groups of people over 60 years old (15 people or more) Free: under 18's, unemployed and benefit holders, disabled, students from the Ecole du Louvre, history and art history students, lecturers from national museums (CNMHF), curators of public museums, journalists, members of ICOM and ICOMOS, active military personnel and civil personnel from the Ministry of Defence. Access : Tickets are for entry to the Army Museum's exhibition halls (permanent collections), to temporary exhibitions, to the Eglise du Dôme (Tomb of Napoleon the First) to the museum of relief maps and to the museum of the Order of Liberation. A single ticket gives access to all the halls of the Army museum, the Church of the Dome, to the museum of the plans and relief and to the museum "Ordre de la Liberation".School groups and "tale visits": 40 euros each group Free: for adolescents under 18 years, active soldiers and civil personnel of the ministry of defence. A single ticket gives access to all the halls of the Army museum, the Church of the Dome, to the museum of the plans and relief and to the museum "Ordre de la Liberation".