On June 19th we visited Les Invalides, a complex which houses Napoleon’s tomb and the Army museum, and the science museum.
We walked from our apartment down to the Cardinal Lemoine Metro station with the intention of buying breakfast rolls at the Boulangerie Parisienne, which had been closed the preceding day. It was closed again, so we walked across the street to Boulangerie des Arènes and bought our rolls there. My grandson had a large chocolate cookie, My granddaughter had a brioche au chocolat, and I had a chausson au pommes. The total for the three was €3.70. The pastries were delicious, as usual.
We then went down into the Metro station and took Line 10 to Duroc - seven stops in the direction of Boulogne Pont de St. Cloud. We then took Line 13 to Saint François Xavier - one stop in the direction of Saint-Denis - Université. We came up out of the station and walked one long block north along Avenue des Villars to the southern side of the « Les Invalides » complex.
Les Invalides (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Invalides) is officially known as L’Hotel National des Invalides. Its construction was ordered in 1670 by King Louis XIV as a home for aged and ill soldiers. The complex currently includes:
- Two churches, one of which contains the tomb of Napoleon I
- The French Army Museum
- A retirement home for soldiers
- A hospital for soldiers
- A medical consultation clinic for soldiers.
The two churches, Eglise du Dôme and Eglise St. Louis des Invalides, are part of the same building and are separated by a glass wall.
Eglise du Dôme
The Eglise du Dôme houses the tomb of Napoleon I. It also houses the tomb of his son, two of his brothers, and a number of famous French military officers such as Marshal Foch, Supreme Allied Commander during World War I. The church was originally the royal chapel for Louis XIV. It derives its name from the huge dome, which was inspired by the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The Eglise St. Louis des Invalides was the soldiers’ church. The soldiers who lived at Les Invalides were required to attend daily services at the church.
The French Army Museum (Musée de l’Armée) http://www.invalides.org/pages/menu.html occupies a large part of the complex.
You can find a pamphlet describing the complex and including a plan of the layout at http://www.invalides.org/pages/dp/Depliant%20musee%20Armee%20ANGLAIS.pdf. It describes all of the military holdings and exhibits of the Army museum. On the page that has the floor plan, the northern side of the complex is toward the bottom.
We arrived at Les Invalides at about 12:50 pm. Our first stop was to be the Eglise du Dome. Although we could get into the churches and Army Museum with my Museum Pass, I still had to go to the ticket window to pick up a free ticket. The ticket office was to the left of the Eglise du Dôme. I quickly obtained the ticket and we went into the church.
The Eglise du Dôme is very impressive on the inside and outside. The dome was recovered with gold in 1989 using 12.5 kilograms (27.5 pounds) of gold in the form of over half a million leaves of gold only .2 microns thick.
At the center of the cupola under the dome is a beautiful circular painting by Charles de la Fosse. It depicts St. Louis presenting to Christ the sword he used to conquer the infidels during the Crusades. Below that paintings are 12 panels with paintings depicting the 12 apostles. Below each panel is a window.
Cupola Paintings
In the center of the main floor is a circular opening that looks down into the crypt of Napoleon. In order to build the crypt which houses Napoleon’s sarcophagus, the center of the church was excavated. The sarcophagus is on the lower floor in the center of the circle. The sarcophagus actually consists of six coffins nested inside one another. The outer one is made of red quartzite and rests on a green granite base.
Napoleon's Sarcophagus
There are twelve huge victory statues mounted against the pillars of the crypt. There is a circular gallery around the crypt. Around the gallery are 10 white marble bas-reliefs showing episodes from Napoleon’s reign (http://www.napoleon.org/en/magazine/museums/files/Invalides_and_Military_Museum.asp )
We did not go down to the gallery, but looked down into the crypt from the floor above. The view from there was excellent.
On the main floor, there are six rooms of to the sides of the circle looking down into the crypt. One room has the tomb of Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon’s older brother. Another has the tomb of Jerome Bonaparte, Napoleon’s younger brother. Yet another has the tomb of Marshal Foch.
After leaving the Eglise du Dôme, we went back to the area where the ticket office was located. In the same area, there was a book shop, boutique, and cafe. We looked through the bookshop and boutique, and then entered the Army Museum.
The Army Museum is one of the largest military museums in the world. It has the third largest display of antique arms and armor in the world. It has weapons from prehistoric times to the end of World War II. There are sections devoted to World War I and World War II. Those sections combine weapons and equipment with photos and video.
The main courtyard, called the Courtyard of Honor (Cour d’Honneur) has 60 classic French bronze cannons, including some designed in 1666.This field artillery collection contains other cannons, mortars, and howitzers from the 18th and 19th centuries. The buildings that surround the Courtyard of Honor have two stories with covered arcades along the outside. A large statue of Napoleon I look out over the courtyard from the second floor of the south arcade. Visible behind him is the dome of the Eglise du Dôme.
The entrance to the Eglise St. Louis is off the Courtyard of Honor. Unfortunately, we did not appreciate what it was, and only took a quick glance inside.
We visited the displays of World War I, World War II, and Medieval armor. They were all very well done.
We also noticed some American military officers arriving for some sort of official function.
We left the museum through the entrance on the north side. There was a long drive and sidewalk that passed through the lawns in front of the museum and a large front gate. Straight ahead were the Place des Invalides and a broad avenue called the Avenue du Maréchal Gallieni. On either side of the avenue were the broad, open lawns of the Esplanade des Invalides. The Esplanade and the Avenue led directly to what is probably the most ornate bridge across the Seine - the Pont Alexandre III, probably about 1,800 ft away. You can see the decorative columns on the bridge from the gate of the museum.
North Side of Les Invalides
We turned left (west) onto the Place des Invalides and walked along the four-story front of the museum. Along the top of the low wall in front were a number of cannons on carriages. They were separated from the sidewalk by a dry moat.
We crossed Rue Fabert and continued straight on Rue de Grenelle. We walked one block to Boulevard de la Tour Maubourg, which we crossed. On the northwest corner of that intersection was an eatery called Restaurant-Brasserie La Tour Maubourg. It had a sandwich and crêpe takeout window. My grandchildren each had a Sandwich Mixte - ham and cheese on a baguette - for €3 each. I had a pâté de campagne baguette sandwich for €4. They were edible, but no more.
We walked to a small park across the street and ate our sandwiches there. While we were eating, a group of Americans on bikes road past us. They looked like they were on a bike tour.
After finishing our sandwiches, we set out for the City of Sciences and Industry on the far northeast side of Paris. Fortunately, the La Tour Maubourg Metro station was at the park where we ate our sandwiches.
It was about 3 pm when we walked down into the station. We took Line 8 four stops to Opera Station in the direction of Creteil Prefecture. We then took Line 7 to Porte de la Villette Station - twelve stops in the direction of La Corneuve 8 Mai 1945. It was short walk from the Metro station to the museum. We arrived at about 3:30 pm.
The City of the Sciences and Industry (Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie)( http://www.cite-sciences.fr/en/cite-des-sciences & http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cit%C3%A9_des_Sciences_et_de_l'Industrie) is the largest science museum in Europe. Its goal is to spread scientific and technical information, particularly among the young. It has lots of hands-on exhibits, a planetarium, a military submarine, an IMAX theater called the Geode, and special departments for children and teens. It receives about 5 million visitors per year.
Part of the Science Museum
Some of the exhibits were:
1. Images
20 stations where you can manipulate images and learn to decipher them
2. Energy
Various ways to provide energy and reduce environmental impact
3. Transport and Man
Increasing mobility and adopting more efficient, eco-friendly transportation
4. Man and His Genes
Evolution and heredity
5. Techno Gallery
Emerging technologies in environment, health, communication, and leisure activities
6. The Satellite Revolution
It also has the typical shop, cafe, restaurant, bookstore that many restaurants have.
My bottom line about the museum was that it was interesting, but not fantastic. I particularly enjoyed the submarine and the IMAX movie.
With my Museum Pass, only two of us got in free. We had to pay €3 per person to visit the submarine and extra to see the IMAX movies. I paid a total of €37.50 ($54) for the various admission and extra fees.
We first walked around and explored some of the hands-on exhibits in the main building.
Then we went outside to walk to the submarine exhibit. The submarine is the Argonaute(S636) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_submarine_Argonaute_(S636)) , an Aréthuse-class attack submarine launched in October 1958 and decommissioned in July 1982. She served in the Mediterranean and was never involved in combat.
The Argonaute
The submarine visit involves two parts:
- a self-guided tour of the submarine
- a building with a number of submarine-related exhibits.
The visit was very interesting.
Then we went back into the main building and stopped in the café where My granddaughter got a bottle of Orangina for €3.80 and a white muesli snack (which she did not like) for €2.80. My grandson got his usual Sprite for €3.80, and I bought an Evian water for €2.30.
The Geode
Next we went outside again to the Geode building where the IMAX theater was located. There were two films being shown in the theater at alternating times. One was a 3D movie called Océanosaures, a fantasy story of ocean dinosaurs. The other was called Hubble. We chose Océanosaures, which started at 5 :30 pm.
Of course, we had to have snacks for the movie. My granddaughter had a small popcorn and My grandson had a bag of mixed candy. The price for the two snacks was €7.70.
We then got in line and went into the main part of the theater. I thought the movie was great, but since it was in French, my grandchildren did not enjoy it.
After finishing the movie, we headed for the shop inside the main building. My grandchildren bought a several souvenirs, including a “Zecar” purchased by My grandson, The total cost was €49.25 ($61.85) worth of souvenirs.
We left the museum about 7 pm and returned to the Porte de la Villete Metro station, where we took the Line 7 subway 20 stops to Place Monge.
For dinner, we chose Restaurant Le Volcan (The Volcano Restaurant - http://www.restaurant-levolcan.fr/) 10 Rue Thouin at the corner of Rue Descartes. It was about two blocks from our apartment, and was a decent choice.
Le Volcan
My granddaughter had onion soup for €7 and a dessert of Dame Blanche (White Lady) - vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and whipped cream - for €6.50. My grandson had a tartiflette for €10, a coke, a dessert of Chocolat Liegois - chocolate ice cream, chocolate sauce, and whipped cream - for €6.50. I had the €17 ($24.48) menu. I chose beef bourguignon and apple pie with vanilla ice cream (which we in the U.S. often apple call pie “à la mode,” but which the French never describe that way.). With my meal, I had a half bottle of Saumur Champigny, a nice red wine from the Saumur area of the Loire Valley for €10. After dinner, I had an espresso for €2.
The meal was very pleasant, and the service was good. The total cost came to €69 ($99.36). We left the restaurant about 11 pm.
As we left the restaurant, we noticed that right across the street was an American restaurant called Katz’s American Diner (http://www.katzparis.fr/).
Katz's American Diner
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