Travel Central on GraciousJaneMarie
Travel Book Reviews
Day One of Paris 2006 - Louvre Day Three (Part One) - Île de la Cité Day Three (Part Two) - Petit Palais and Napoleon's Tomb Day Three (Part Three) - Arc de Triomphe Day Six - Paris - Montmartre, Eiffle Tower and more
Napoleon's tomb is a quick Metro ride from anywhere in the city. As we emerged from the subway station with sandwiches we'd purchased from a stall in the transit system, we had choices to make that didn't involve lunch. The tomb, part of the Les Invalides Military Museum Complex, was to our left and the gorgeous bridge, Pont Alexandre III (named for the Russian czar), stood to the left.
Pont Alexandre III with the chapel dome of Les Invalides in the distance
Grand and Petit Palais as seen from the Eiffle Tower are in the upper left corner of the photo Since I'm drawn to very shiny objects, it was a toss up as to which wonder we would visit first. We crossed the bridge and found we didn't have to choose again. The Grand Palais, a very large - dare I say "grand" - glass exhibition hall, was undergoing renovation. We began with the Petit Palais across the street.
entry of the Petit Palais (little palace) There is no admission charge for the Petit Palais AND we were in need of restrooms, so we went into that beautifully restored art museum, did a very quick tour, emerged to pass a statue of Sir Winston Churchill, and walked back over the bridge and through the very long park-like grounds to the Invalides complex.
Petit Palais hall
Petit Palais courtyard
Sir Winston Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain during World War II
armour in the Military Museum photo of Napoleon's toes (lower right column) photo of Napoleon's jewel
Napoleon's coat and hat in the museum portion of the Les Invalides chapel
Napoleon Bonaparte was much loved and much hated in his day as ruler of most of Europe. He ended the Terror (beheadings) of the French Revolution by taking charge of the French army and then the country. He conquered vast portions of the European continent, which ultimately led to the unification of Germany - among other things. He also crowned himself (literally) and his first wife, Josephine, emperor and empress of France. All of this played out while he was personally responsible for the deaths of thousands, a direct result of his triumphs and mistakes as a general. After his final defeat in 1815 at the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean, where he died pretty much alone of either illness or poison, depending on whose book you read.
Dome of Les Invalides - outside and inside
In 1840, his body was returned to France and installed in one of the great tombs of the world in 1861 under the dome of the chapel.
Napoleon's tomb
altar of Les Invalides chapel
|
800+ pages HOME greenlightWRITE.com Customer Service CHILDREN TEDDY BEARS HOME
AskCaryn.com (teens)
|
If you like this information, please link to it instead of copying it. You may not display our content on a public bulletin board, ftp site, website, chat room or by any other unauthorized means. Thanks.
Copyright© 1999 - 2007 by Nancy Kamp, dba greenlightWRITE.com and Grace-Light.com. All Rights Reserved. International and US Federal Copyright Laws protect all material on this website, which may not be reprinted in any form in any media or hosted on any website. This document confers no rights whatsoever to its reader / recipient. No rights in any copyrighted material, whether exclusive or non-exclusive, may be transferred in the absence of a written agreement that is the product of the parties' negotiations, fully approved by independent counsel retained by Nancy Kamp and formally executed with manual signatures by all parties to the agreement pursuant to the statutory requirements of Section 204(a) of the Federal Copyright Act of 1976. Furthermore, anyone caught using our trademarks or copyrighted text, images, or jewelry and craft designs without permission will be reported to their billing company, their hosting company and any other related companies for account closure. We will also follow up with a copyright infringement lawsuit in accordance with the The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)
Using the information on this site and linked to this site is done at your own risk. No promises or guarantees of any kind are intended or implied.