Museum

Musée de l’Armée

Paris, France

Musée de l’Armée — Wikimedia Commons image

Musée de l’Armée occupies historic Hôtel des Invalides, where military objects are displayed within the institution created to house veterans. Its collections connect weapons, uniforms, and personal histories to the changing purposes of the complex around them.

Guide preview

Inside Musée de l’Armée, military objects sit within the very complex that once housed soldiers who had fought in France’s wars. Louis XIV founded Hôtel des Invalides in 1670 as a place for veterans to live and receive care; the site’s courtyard and surrounding buildings were organized as a community, not simply as a ceremonial backdrop.

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Quick facts

  • The Musée de l’Armée was created in 1905.
  • Hôtel des Invalides was founded by Louis XIV in 1670.
  • The complex still houses the Institution Nationale des Invalides.

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