Hours: daily from 10 am to 6 pm
The Army Museum and the Dome are open every day from 10 am to 6 pm, and the ticket office closes 30 minutes before the sites, at 5:30 pm. Only three annual closures: Jan 1, May 1 and Dec 25. If you have only a half‑day, take the morning slot: at 10 am the Dome nave is still quiet and you can see Napoleon I’s tomb without crowds in front of you.
There is another, even nicer window: the night opening on the first Friday of the month, until 10 pm, with ticket windows closing at 9 pm. The night ticket is €10, and the place changes completely once the lights go down.
Prices: one ticket at €17, and it covers more than you think
Full‑price ticket is €17, reduced price €12, subject to conditions. It is a single ticket, and that is the point most visitors discover only on site. It gives access to:
- the Dome church
- Napoleon I’s tomb
- the permanent collections of the Army Museum
- the current temporary exhibition
- the Liberation Order Museum
- the Relief Maps Museum
In other words, you do not pay separately for Napoleon. Book a slot on the museum’s official online ticketing: you enter directly, no ticket window. On site, the ticket office operates from 10 am to 5:30 pm, Visa or Mastercard, vacation vouchers, cash at the windows.
A detail we repeat often at reception: the Cour d’Honneur and the Saint‑Louis Cathedral of the Invalides are free, no ticket required. If you don’t want a museum at all, you can walk through the courtyard, look at the cannons lined under the arcades, and leave.
The audio guide is free, but bring your headphones
The audio guide is included in the ticket and requires no download. Connect to the Wi‑Fi “Musee_Armee”, then scan a QR code at the entrance or in the rooms. If you prefer a device, the desks lend them free of charge from 10 am to 4:45 pm, with ID and while stock lasts. Remember to slip headphones into your pocket before leaving us: it’s the classic forgetfulness.
Which entrance to choose
Two accesses: 129 rue de Grenelle, north side, and Place Vauban, south side, at the foot of the Dome. The choice matters.
From rue de Grenelle you arrive via the Cour d’Honneur and follow the museum in chronological order before finishing under the Dome. From Place Vauban you start with the tomb, which makes sense if you came for him and him alone, or if you only have an hour. From Avenue Duquesne, where we are, Place Vauban is the natural entrance, and it’s the one we point to most often.
The recommended visit order
Two and a half hours are enough to see everything without rushing. Here is the itinerary we most gladly share:
- The Dome and Napoleon I’s tomb: first if you enter via Place Vauban, and within the first half‑hour of the day if you can. It fills up the fastest.
- The permanent collections of the Army Museum: they are extensive. If time is short, pick a period rather than skim everything.
- The Relief Maps Museum: fortified‑city models, included in the same ticket. It’s the room hurried visitors skip, and the one they tell us about on their way back.
- The Liberation Order Museum: short, dense, and it changes the tone of the visit.
Combined ticket with the Rodin Museum
There is a combined Army Museum + Rodin Museum ticket for €26, with skip‑the‑line access to both. Both are in our neighborhood, and the combo fits into a morning if you start early. We have detailed this route, hours included, on a page at the end of the article.
Before leaving us
Take an extra layer beyond what the weather suggests: the Dome church is stone and stays cool, even in summer. Organizationally, our buffet breakfast is served from 7 am to 10:30 am, giving you plenty of time to be at Place Vauban at opening. And if you arrive the same day, our rooms are available from 3 pm: a morning arrival is a good time for the Invalides, you come back for lunch, and then continue your day.