The French Army Museum is located in Hotel Des Invalides, one of the most-known buildings to contain a number of museums and monuments of Paris. Hotel Des Invalides itself was built in 1670 and served as a military hospital. So besides the exhibits of all the museum it contains, it has seen a good deal of army and war in its days.
Interestingly, the museum was opened in 1905. The founders definitely couldn’t even give a guess about what was going to happen to France and the rest of Europe shortly. The two World Wars surely provided some very nice exhibits to the museum. Despite this, the museum still had an exciting collection for viewers. Thanks to Napoleon Bonaparte in this case. In fact, you can also visit the tomb of Napoleon, it’s located in the church of the same building complex. The church is located inside the dome of the building, which is one of the best architectural beauties in possession of France.
What to Expect
The number one thing you will find here, and you’ll find lots of it, is the information. You can almost learn the 20th century history by heart after going through the museum. Almost every display has a caption explaining the history of the weapon and how it is used.
The next thing that you’ll find at every step is the variety of weapon types ever used in French wars. Canons, rifles, armor, swords, shields… Is this enough, or do you need other items to listen to your kid exclaim “COOL!” at? Oh, there is a tank in the court ride, now, that will definitely make you let out some exclamations.
If you are particularly interested in the World War series, you can get useful information here. The exhibitions are not expressions of French military glory, there are weapons from both sides of the war.
French and Their Fashion Again
If you always thought that the French are the most devoted fans of fashion, you were not wrong. If you visit the museum you’ll see how fashionable the military uniforms were back then (well, I guess, in accordance with the medieval fashion). There are so many details, very delicate and tasteful, that one would think French armor used to be specially created for museum display, and not for wars.
Every single rifle has its own design, you will see dozens of them that survived from different war experiences the French had, and you won’t find a design that is repeated twice. They’re unique and original, just like pieces of art.
The exhibits are very life-like. For example, a coat covered with mud, stories of soldiers that you will virtually relieve after reading.
By the way, you can drop in to the Army Museum with another interesting site, the Museum of Relief Maps. Both of them are located in the same building and have similar theme. Both of them have to do with exhibitions related to wars and military business.
Tips for Your Visit
As in case of any other museum, it would be wise if you could do some research before visiting. I’m not saying spend hours reading books and websites (of course, if you don’t plan to get a job in this museum), but at least be aware what exhibitions you should expect. If you are more interested in World War II, then be a quick visitor in the exhibitions coming before that. There is really a lot of information to digest, and if you stop for every poster, you might end up staying overnight at the museum (and that may cause Napoleon waking up and chasing you at night, if you’ve watched the movie Night at the Museum, you know what I mean).
If you are not planning to scan through the museum, then get there early, the museum usually closes at 5 pm, and you can never know which part will interest you the most. There is nothing worse than having to walk out of the museum after finding a thrilling display.
It would be good to combine a couple of sites with this museum. It’s not isolated from the majority of Paris attractions, so you can plan your sightseeing that will start from the Eiffel Tower, then end with the Grand Palais, Rodin Museum, and the Museum of Relief Maps.
There are usually not too many people in the museum. It won’t be so crowded you’ll have hard time getting close to the exhibits, but it’s to know that your time is not wasted on queues. If you are planning to visit more than 5 museums in Paris, then getting a Museum Pass will be one of the best things to save a lot of money. This Pass will allow you to enter around 60 museums without waiting in the line. The list is quite extensive, it includes the Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, Versailles and other 57 museums. With that in hand you can enter any museum from the list without having to pay additional money, so many times in a day your heart will wish. The cost differs according to the days you want to enjoy this privilege. 2-days Pass will cost around 45 Euros, which is great if you are a museum-fan.
However, don’t worry if your French is so bad it doesn’t get you anywhere near understanding the information stands. You won’t get lost in the museum, just like in the rest of Paris. And even if you do, you will definitely be found in a romantic place, which will be the start of your own Parisian adventure.
