Les Invalides: The Gilded Dome and Its Main Gate

Look out over Paris from the Eiffel Tower, or from Montmartre on a clear day, and one building catches your eye: a huge gilded dome glowing gold. That's Les Invalides. For all its splendor, it's far less known than many of Paris's other landmarks.

The nearest metro station is Varenne on Line 13, which is also very close to the Musée Rodin. You can also get off at La Tour-Maubourg on Line 8. From either station, the main gate is a walk of five minutes or less. If you take the RER C, get off at Invalides station and allow 10 to 15 minutes on foot. The complex is huge and has several entrances; this tour starts at the main gate. The Army Museum is covered by the Paris Museum Pass.

Before going in, take a look at the front of the building. The first thing you'll notice is the long row of cannons, fitting for such an imposing facade. Beyond them lies a moat-like structure, a defensive feature from the days of battle. Moats were dug so that water flowed around a building, helping to block or slow an invading enemy.

Les Invalides is a complex that holds the Army Museum, a museum of military models, the tomb of Napoleon I, a church and facilities for French soldiers. Designed by the architect Libéral Bruand under Louis XIV, it was built as a home for wounded and retired soldiers. In an age of constant war, how soldiers were treated mattered a great deal. It continued to serve as a hospital and residence for veterans, and part of the complex is still used for military purposes today. Now the emphasis falls on museums and memorial spaces that retrace the history of the French army.

The building itself is historically significant. The main facade has a vast arched gateway with lavish decoration, and Louis XIV's signature symbols appear all over it. At the very top, in the band that follows the arch, the central sculpture is a sun with a human face, representing the king. Just below stands an equestrian statue of Louis XIV, flanked by two figures representing virtues: on the left, holding a mirror, Wisdom; on the right, holding scales, Justice. On either side of the gate stand Ares, god of war, on the left, and Athena, goddess of wisdom, on the right. Together they let you read both the legacy and the architecture of Louis XIV's reign.

Les Invalides is often called a source of French pride and confidence, and a symbol of both. We'll explain why as we move through its interior and the museum galleries.