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Walk from the Eiffel Tower to the Invalides

A short walk in Paris around two emblematic places of the capital: the Eiffel Tower and the Invalides.

The walk starts at the Bir-Hakeim metro station and ends at the Invalides station. It is a very touristic visit of Paris that passes by the Eiffel Tower and the Hôtel des Invalides. If you want to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, it is sometimes necessary to be patient to get to the elevators, the Eiffel Tower is said to be the most visited paying monument in the world.

The visit of the Invalides proposed here is a free visit. You can walk freely in the courtyard and go upstairs. It does not include the visits of the museum of the armies, nor the tomb of Napoleon which are paying. The museum is not free on the first Sunday of the month. Personally I think that if you like military museums, other museums in France are much more interesting in Normandy or in Verdun for example.

Interest: good (1 user)
Difficulty:
Duration: 3 h.
Practical information

Bir-Hakeim Station

The walk starts at the Bir-Hakeim metro station, the closest station to the Eiffel Tower.

Riverboats

You can take advantage of the ride to visit Paris from the Seine. A boat company is located at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.
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Waiting for the Eiffel Tower

Visiting Paris requires a lot of energy and you have to wait on your feet for long minutes before you can take an elevator. Although everyone knows the monument very well, the visit is still impressive.
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View of the South Pillar

If you are a little more athletic you can choose the option of climbing the stairs by the south pillar. The waiting time is shorter. On the picture you can see the line of people going up the stairs.
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The Field of Mars

The Field of Mars is a public park, it has long been a military training ground where troops came to practice. Mars is the god of war.
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Perspective on the Champ de Mars

At the end of the Champ de Mars is the Wall of Peace: "The Wall of Peace is freely inspired by the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem. Visitors can leave their messages of peace in the interstices of the Wall provided for this purpose. This wall is controversial and is very often vandalized.
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The Military School

The perspective of the Champ de Mars ends with the Ecole Militaire. It was built under Louis XV and was abandoned for a long time. Today it has regained its original function and trains soldiers.
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The dome of the Invalides

There are two churches inside the Invalides, a royal church called the Dome church and a soldiers' church called the Saint-Louis des Invalides church. The church of the dome contains the tomb of Napoleon. The Saint-Louis des Invalides church is still an active church.
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Courtyard of the Hôtel National des Invalides

Artillery enthusiasts can walk freely in the courtyard to see the evolution of artillery techniques over the centuries. The cannons are exposed with explanatory cards.
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View of the courtyard from the second floor

On the photo on the right in the background is a staircase that allows you to go up to the second floor to have a magnificent view on the courtyard of the Invalides.
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The corridors of the Invalides

Each door along this corridor housed the rooms of the disabled soldiers. Unfortunately no reconstruction of their living conditions is visible. At certain times the hotel was overcrowded. Nowadays, the hotel has been transformed into an army museum.
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The Invalides and the Eiffel Tower

The Invalides were built by Louis XIV to house and shelter war invalids or people too old to serve in the army.
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Saint-Louis des Invalides Church

You can visit this church freely. Be careful not to disturb because services are always held.
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