Invalides: Napoleon’s Tomb & Army Museum Guided Tour

Explore Les Invalides, Napoleon's Tomb, and the Army Museum on a guided small-group tour with skip-the-line entry.

Getting started

Meet your English-speaking local guide outside Les Invalides at the designated meeting point, as indicated on your voucher. Your mobile ticket is scanned before you move past the main ticket lines using skip-the-line entry to access the complex. After a brief introduction to the site and the small-group format, you set off together toward the Dôme des Invalides.

What to expect

Dôme des Invalides and Napoleon's Tomb

This domed church is the visual centerpiece of the Invalides complex and houses Napoleon's Tomb. With your guide, you follow a route that sets the emperor's life story against the setting of his monumental resting place.

Features

• Stand inside the Dôme des Invalides and view Napoleon's Tomb, while your guide shares stories about his rise, key military campaigns, political reforms, and final exile.

• Gain a clearer sense of Napoleon's legacy in French history as you move around the circular crypt and surrounding chapels.

• Benefit from entry to Napoleon's Tomb as part of your ticket, avoiding the need to arrange access separately.

Army Museum galleries

The Army Museum occupies much of the Invalides complex and contains extensive collections on French and European military history. Your guide leads you through selected galleries before you continue exploring on your own if time and your ticket option allow.

Features

• See curated displays in the Army Museum galleries, including weapons, uniforms, and artifacts that illustrate different periods of French military history.

• Learn how the collections connect to the stories of soldiers housed at Invalides and to wider European conflicts, guided by clear explanations rather than technical detail.

• Use your included access to the Army Museum galleries, which is valid as per the option selected at booking.

Cour d'Honneur and Saint-Louis des Invalides Cathedral

The Cour d'Honneur is the main ceremonial courtyard of the complex, surrounded by historic buildings and artillery pieces. Nearby, the Saint-Louis des Invalides Cathedral adds a religious and commemorative layer to the site.

Features

• Walk across the Cour d'Honneur, where artillery collections are displayed, and hear how this space was used for military ceremonies and displays of power.

• Step into or view the Saint-Louis des Invalides Cathedral, a church historically linked with soldiers and military chaplains at the complex.

• Access these areas as part of your guided tour of Les Invalides, without needing separate tickets.

Museum of Relief Maps and Museum of the Order of Liberation

Within the Invalides complex, these two museums offer a different perspective on France's military past. They complement the main Army Museum galleries and can be visited during your time on site.

Features

• At the Museum of Relief Maps, examine detailed scale models that were once used to plan military campaigns and understand strategic terrain.

• In the Museum of the Order of Liberation, trace the stories of those honored for their role in France's liberation during the Second World War.

• Your entry to these museums is included with access to the Army Museum galleries, subject to the option you select.

Guided tour format and group size

Your visit to Les Invalides is shaped by the small-group guided format. The intimate size allows more time for questions and easier movement through the complex.

Features

• Follow a 2-hour small-group guided tour, or a 2-hour Napoleon-themed guided tour, depending on the option chosen at checkout.

• Stay with an English-speaking local guide who leads either an indoor guided visit of Les Invalides or an outdoor Napoleon walking tour around the complex, as per your selected variant.

• Join a small group of up to 8 people on semi-private options, or a small-group English-guided tour with skip-the-line entry where specified in the tour description.