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The Hotel des Invalides, founded by Louis XIV to shelter 7000 aged or crippled formed soldiers.
This church is part of a large establishment built to house disabled veterans. Although it is generally classical in style, particularly in the rectilinearity of the lower facade, the church does have some Baroque elements. There is a dynamic movement toward the center, which culminates in the central pediment.
In the chapels of St-Louis are the
tombs of Napoleons brothers Joseph and Jérôme,
of his son and of the marshals of France. Immediately
beneath the cupola is a red sarcophagus that covers the
six coffins enclosing the body of Napoleon I, which was
returned from Saint-Helena in 1840 through the efforts
of King Louis-Philippe. Napoleons uniforms, personal arms,
and death bed are displayed in the rich Army Museum at
the front of the Invalides.
The grassy Esplanade des Invalides slopes gently
for 1,410 feet to the Quai d'Orsay and the Pont Alexandre
III. The first stone for the bridge was laid in 1897 by
Alexanders son, Tsar Nicholas II. A steel span with upper
works of stone, it embodies the Gay Nineties, la Belle
Epoque, solid, sumptuous, and luxuriant, with its pomposity
mocked by its own gaiety. Finished in time for the International
Exposition of 1900, it leads to two faded souvenirs of
that years fair, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.
Both are still used for seasonal painting salons and major
visiting art exhibits, and the Grand Palais also shelters
overflow classes from the Sorbonne and a science museum.
Hotels
near the Invalides
Hotel
7 Eiffel Paris - Hotel
de la Tour Maubourg Paris Invalides
- Hotel
de
la Motte Picquet Eiffel Tower Paris
- Hotel
Belle Juliette St Germain des Pres Paris
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