The Invalides save the Dome Church in the mausoleum with the remains of Napoleon and is home to museums related to the military past of France.

The Hotel des Invalides in Paris is a monument by a royal edict that ordered the construction of King Louis XIV in 1670 for the purpose of receiving war wounded soldiers or too old to serve as a way to ensure help and assistance those who risked their lives in defense of the monarchy.

The project for construction of the hotel (somewhat reminiscent of Philip II at El Escorial in Spain) was entrusted to Liberal Bruant and in just three years the construction of the set was finished. In October 1674 the first soldiers were installed. By the end of the seventeenth century, the hotel housed some 4000 retirees, who worked to combat idleness in workshops produce uniforms, footwear and upholstery.The most seriously wounded, about one hundred, were received at the Hospital, located in the southeast of the building. This hospital is still functioning, while the rooms of pensioners from the courtyard has been turned into museums.

In the southern part of the impressive group are the churches: the Church of the Dome and the Cathedral of St. Louis des Invalides, which, although architecturally part of the same set have different functions.
The Dome Church owes its name precisely to its large golden dome that rises 100 meters out in the landscape of Paris and was designed by Jules Hardouin-Mansart. Worked on it the most important artists of Louis XIV, such as Charles de la Fosse, and Girardon Jouvenet and was inaugurated in 1706 as a real church. Under Napoleon I, Pantheon Dome becomes receiving military glory of France, such as Turenne and Vauban, and Rouget de Lisle, author of La Marseillaise, among others. Since its construction, the dome was covered with gold five times, which were necessary, each time more than ten kilos of gold …
Invalides

The Church of St. Louis des Invalides, known as the Church of the Soldiers, was completed in 1679 and was assigned to the cult of pensioners. The vault is decorated by the French military trophies and contains a cave with the remains of numerous hotel governors, marshals and military leaders.

In 1840 Napoleon’s remains were brought from the island of Santa Elena and buried in the Church of San Luis, by decision of King Louis Philippe. The same change made in 1842 the dome structure to build a tomb for the Emperor, the architect Visconti.
Napoleon’s ashes were placed in 1861 under the Dome, a major red stone tomb of Russia, surrounded by a circular gallery with bas-reliefs that recall the actions of his reign and his statue bearing the imperial emblems. Also under the dome are the remains of his two brothers and his son.

At the Hotel des Invalides currently operating several museums: the Museum of the Navy, one of the most important museums of art and military history of the world, the Royal Gallery of Maps in relief (a collection that includes 1000 m2 of models), the Museum of Artillery, whose pieces adorn the courtyards and the guns belonging also seen in the entrance, and after the Second World War museum created the Order of the Liberation of Contemporary History.
To the north, the large central courtyard extends over a wide public esplanade that leads to the Seine. Crossing the Pont Alexandre III is beautiful on the other side comes to the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais.