Overview

This vast complex was founded in 1675, at Louis XIV's request, to take in French ex-servicemen and handicapped war veterans - from whom it gets its name, "Invalides." It was the first French hospital-turned-home to be built entirely for soldiers. The building is adorned with a pretty classical façade, a delightful little garden, a large courtyard and an impressive esplanade. As well as the hospital - in which a hundred or so disabled ex-servicemen are still cared for - the complex also houses the église du Dôme, Saint-Louis des Invalides, the Musée de l'Armée, the Musée de l'Ordre de la Libération and the Musée des Plans-Relief.