Paris far and away has more famous attractions than any city in the world, and I would include Rome in this. The Notre Dame Cathedral and the Arc de Triomphe are two very well known Paris sites. But amongst the many, there is the Les Invalides which may not be the most famous, but it has a very famous story and is visited by millions.

The Sun King of France is what Louis XIV was known as. He waged numerous battles during his lifetime and representative of what he stood for was the Les Invalides which was built by him to give soldiers who were old or disabled a place to relax. It was built in 1671 and hospital bed additions were added in 1676 that could handle 4,000 soldiers.

Les Invalides was said to be constructed by the then Louis XIV out of genuine sympathy to humanity and that par of his legacy will always continue to linger on in the memory of Parisians, who decided to keep the flag going to the memory of a nice warlord.

Inside the Les Invalides, are several buildings such as the Musee de l’armee, Musee de l’ordre de la Liberation and so on. It is known for its distinct collections of prehistoric military armor and weaponry. And after two years of toiling and laboring, the church was giving a golden dome which lies atop the Museum; all of this for the memory the pre-revolution era.

From the day Les Invalides had been created, it has commanded the attention of military organizations, with flags of defeated enemies being hung all over the place. It is also a highly referred shrine to many followers of Napoleon Bonaparte who always took to time to visit this shrine to pay homage to the revered tomb of France’s most respected war lord.

One notable but unique phenomenon that took place in Les Invalides happened during the war where the army concealed an armory in the premises of Les Invalides. It was eventually broken open by the angry mobs mourning the French Revolution. The mobs were fully armed in order to bring down the most hated Bastille and end his reign of terror. Many soldiers were eventually buried within the premises. Napoleon himself is buried there and his tomb can be visited by Paris tourists.

The Les Invalides is just one on the long list of Paris monuments that can be found when visiting the most toured city in the world.

Pierre Jean Trudeau has lived in Paris his whole life. He really enjoys Paris history and is fascinated by all of the grand Paris attractions. He intends to finish his book about all the grand Paris landmarks sometime next year.

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