Army Museum Paris

Army Museum & Napoleon's tomb - darkometer rating : 5 - One of Europe's premier military museums, which amongst many things has extensive sections about World War One and Two (including bits about the Holocaust ) as well as one on the Cold War , thus making it interesting from the point of view of dark tourism too. As a bonus, this Paris institution also boasts Napoleon Bonaparte's hugely oversized tomb. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: This grand museum at the Les Invalides complex in Paris is one of the oldest and most prominent military museums in the world, even though it is somewhat short on large exhibits that most military buffs tend to be after especially (no planes or big tanks). But as far as information and coverage go, it is quite a good museum all the same. And while it (naturally?) often tends towards a glamorizing portrayal of military success, it frequently doesn't spare visitors the grim sides of war. It is therefore also a recommended museum from a dark tourism perspective. The Army museum, or Musee de l'Armee, is over a hundred years old, having emerged from a merger of the even older Artillery Museum and the Military History Museum in 1905. The building complex, known as L'Hotel national des Invalides, is even older still, dating back to the 17th century and the reign of Louis XIV, who initiated it as a hospital and home for old and "disabled" ('invalide') soldiers. The complex's centre piece is the Eglise de Dome (Dome Church), whose golden dome visually dominates the whole area to this day and remains a major Paris landmark. Under the dome several greats of France's military history have been placed in pompous tombs.