What you can visit without a ticket
The boundary, metre by metre
You enter the site from the esplanade to the north or the Place Vauban to the south. Either way you are already inside Les Invalides and nobody has asked for anything. You can walk the full circuit of the building through the moats, past the eighteen bronze guns of the triumphal battery, enter the great courtyard through the north gate, walk round both tiers of its galleries, stop under the central arch in front of the statue of Napoleon known as “the little corporal”, then push open the door of the cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides at the far end. All of that is free.
The control point is at the entrance to the museum halls and at the door of the Dôme. That is where you show the ticket described on this page.
The soldiers' cathedral, which everyone skips
This is my daily regret. The cathedral of Saint-Louis-des-Invalides is a great white nave, plain, whose galleries are hung with flags captured from the enemy. It has been the military parish since the 17th century, its acoustics are magnificent, and it is nearly always empty because visitors, busy with the Dôme, do not know it exists. Historically it opened onto the Dôme through a glazed bay: one church, two entrances, the soldiers on one side and the king on the other. I give it a page of its own.
What you do not see without a ticket
The tomb, obviously: it is inside the Dôme, and the Dôme is ticketed. The armour, the relief maps, the Order of the Liberation and the de Gaulle Historial likewise. And I would rather be plain about it: without a ticket you will have seen a very fine piece of architecture — and you will not have seen the reason people travel to get here. That is exactly the scene I describe on the homepage: delighted visitors leaving without ever having approached the crypt.
What works
- The great courtyard is one of the finest classical spaces in Paris, and it is free
- The moats and the battery of cannon can be walked without paying
- The Saint-Louis cathedral is open, empty and free
- On 14 July everything becomes free, museums included
Worth knowing
- No tomb is visible from the free part of the site
- The Dôme can only be seen from outside
- Site opening hours govern access to the moats and courtyard
- Services occasionally close the cathedral to visitors
Do the free part first, not last. The great courtyard early in the morning, when the light rakes along the galleries and there is nobody in it, is a moment the ticketed visit does not replace. Only then go into the Dôme.
Booking the part you pay for
The ticket below opens the Dôme, the tomb and the four museums. What is free stays free: the two do not exclude each other, they complete each other within the same day.
A reminder: what you book above is the ticket that opens the Army Museum, the Dôme and the tomb. The great courtyard and the Saint-Louis cathedral stay free to enter, with no ticket at all.
Frequently asked questions
Is the great courtyard really free?
Yes, with no ticket and no checkpoint, during site opening hours.
Can you see the tomb without paying?
No. The tomb is under the Dôme, which is a ticketed space: see the tomb page.
Can you visit the Saint-Louis cathedral?
Yes, freely, outside services. It is described on its page.
Is there a day when everything is free?
14 July: see the Bastille Day page.