Napoleon's Tomb and the Veteran's Hospital

We visited the Église du Dôme to pay a visit to Napoleon, who is buried in what is most assuredly the most elaborate tomb built for a twice exiled head of state.  The church is also home to Napoleon's brothers and great French military leaders such as Ferdinand Foch (WWI hero) and Turenne (general under Louis XIV), but Napoleon takes center stage.  His sarcophagus is actually six separate sarcophagi that fit within each other like a Russian doll, and the result is a massive monument.  The pictures don't give a good sense of the scale since people aren't allowed to get close.

Outside the Église du Dôme

Here lies Napoleon

On the Napoleonic Code: "My only code, by its simplicity, has done more good for France than all the laws that preceded me."  He never claimed to be modest.

The church is part of the huge Les Invalides complex, originally built as a hospital for recent veterans.  During the French Revolution, a mob stormed the hospital to wrest its inventory of 30,000 muskets before taking on the Bastille.  Today it houses the Musée de l'Armée, France's military museum.  Except for a quick jaunt through the medieval arms and armor section, we spent all of our time in the World Wars section.  It was extremely well done, even with the somewhat humorous attempts to aggrandize the French contribution to the Allied victory in WWII.  I think this museum often gets overlooked by visitors who are only spending a short amount of time in Paris, but those with an interest in military history will not be disappointed.

More pictures in the full post.

In the courtyard

The inside of the Soldier's Church, decorated with flags and standards taken from conquered foes (seems like the Christian thing to do)

WWI uniforms for soldiers in some of France's colonial armies

Typical

Ornate royal armor