A vast complex, now encompassing four museums and two churches, Les Invalides was established as a lodging and hospital for wound military veterans in 1670; it once accommodated 7,000 soldiers. Les Invalides is surmounted by the soaring gilt cupola of the Dôme Church, and as a building rivals the Louvre in terms of sheer size and Gallic self-assurance; it's also the foremost 17th-century landmark in Paris.

Of the museums, probably the most interesting is the Musée de l'Armée, begun in the 1700s; this military museum is perhaps the most impressive and comprehensive of its kind in the world. Naturally, a large portion of its two galleries is devoted to the exploits of the little general from Corsica. You'll see his death mask and stuffed dog and horse here, as well as uniforms, medals, and weapons. The rest of the museum is devoted to weapons from the Stone Age through World War II. Don't miss the secret service anti-personnel devices, some disguised as rats.

Other museums in Les Invalides are the Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération (Tel. 47-05.04.10), which commemorates the WWII French Resistance movement, and the Musée des Plans-Reliefs (Tel. 45.51.95.05), which features military maps and models of French towns and forts. Also a part of the hospital wards is the 17th-century St. Louis Church, also known as the "soldiers' chapel."

Originally built as the private chapel of Louis XIV, the Eglise de Dôme was the Sun King's greatest architectural gift to Paris; it's also one of the most pompous and stylized houses of worship you'll likely encounter. Under the gold-leafed dome, which rises 100 meters (330 feet) above the hospital wings, is Napoleon's Tomb. The emperor's body rests beneath an elaborate glass-topped gallery in not one but six coffins. Over the tomb are carvings of victory goddesses, and murals immortalize Napoleonic words of wisdom. Some of Napoleon's immediate family members, including brothers, Jerome and Joseph, his son, as well as other French military leaders, keep him company in death with equally ostentatious tombs. As a collection of sarcophagi, Les Invalides has few equals, and the entire building is an oddly riveting monument to grandiloquence.

Address: Place des Invalides, avenue de Tourville, 75007 Paris
Call: (33) 1.44.42.37.72
Fax: (33) 1.44.42.37.64