Paris #5 - The Hotel Des Invalides

Originally built as a place for wounded war veterans, the Hotel des Invalides now houses the French Army museum as well as...duh duh duh: Napoleon's tomb!

We made a beeline for the tomb. Score yet another win for the Museum pass! Nappy is housed in a massive marble chapel on the south end of the Hotel that was I'm almost certain constructed specifically for the purpose. Egotistical leadership is not exactly foreign to the French experience. The ceilings were quite reminiscent of Versailles and the sarcophagus itself is a gigantic coffin in a depressed crypt in the centre of what would, in a worship space designed to worship God and not a diminuitive Corsican, be the nave. Where the people would stand. Nappy himself is in there somewhere, but encased in five or six layers; there's a lead coffin and an ebony one and a few other materials. 

From the park besides the complex we could see this "Grand Palais" across the Seine. I don't know what it is. Anyone feel like a quick Google-ing and them email me a summary?

The place had a lot of cannons. Just lying around.

Bonaparte himself, complete with hand in pocket. 

Turns out you can be remembered in a famous mausoleum just for being an Employee

This completely overlooked tombstone is actually the one that covered Nappy's grave before they brought his body back to France. The English and French couldn't agree over what to write so all it says is "Here Lies..." and the rest of it is blank.

The Army museum was, as you can imagine, a military museum. We didn't have a lot of time so we jogged through the WWI/WWII section. There were some really good finds there. Here are some of the highlights.

A propellor from a Wright Brothers biplane.

Russian uniforms, ca 1900s

This stuffed penguin accompanied one of the more illustrious of France's WWI fighter pilots into cold and unpleasant air combat.

Periscope rifles adapted for trench warfare.

The ghosts of French marshals Foche, Joffre and Petain

A WWII BBC microphone

ID papers and star from Jews captured and identified by the Nazis

Hitler on vacation.

One of only a couple surviving Enigma machines. The gadgets that broke Nazi codes

Japanese WWII poster. I always knew Roosevelt was a zombie

Watch out, Greg. I think that's a V-2 rocket behind you. 

Replica of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. I suppose the original is in Japan. Sorta.