The Invalides district: what you really do there, seen from Duquesne Avenue

By Derby Eiffel Hotel · October 6, 2026

• The National Hotel of the Invalides and its dome

  · Between Tourville Avenue and the esplanade, 75007

  It’s the complex that gives the district its name: a massive military enclosure whose Dome church, gilded, houses Napoleon I’s tomb, and whose wings host the Army Museum. Our advice: start with the Dome, which can be visited quickly and is the piece everyone comes to see, then save the museum for later, when you know how much time you have left. On the Seine side, the esplanade is a public lawn you can cross freely, no ticket required: it offers the best overall view of the façade, and it’s also the route toward Alexandre III Bridge. For hours, prices and a precise visiting order, we have written a full page.

• The Rodin Museum

  · Rue de Varenne, 75007, behind the Invalides

  An 18th‑century private mansion where Rodin worked, and especially a sculpture garden where The Thinker and The Gates of Hell are displayed outdoors. It’s our top recommendation for people who say they don’t like museums: you can just enjoy the garden, sit, and leave after an hour without feeling like you’re queuing in a hallway. It naturally pairs with the Invalides, of which it is a direct neighbor, and it’s the combination we most often suggest to guests who have only a morning. Hours and prices are on our dedicated page.

• The Saxe‑Breteuil Market

  · Avenue de Saxe, 75007 · Free entry

  The open‑air market of the district, set up on the central median of Avenue de Saxe, toward Place de Breteuil. It runs on Thursday from 7 am to 2:30 pm and Saturday from 7 am to 3 pm, and that’s it: outside those two mornings the avenue is just an avenue again. We recommend Thursday rather than Saturday, because it’s the same market with half the crowd. Come for lunch rather than grocery shopping if you’re at the hotel: cheese, bread, fruit, and the Champ de Mars continues nearby for a seat.

• Rue Cler

  · Rue Cler, 75007, between Avenue de La Motte‑Picquet and Rue de Grenelle

  The pedestrian shopping street of the 7th, with stalls under awnings, cheesemakers and terrace cafés. It’s not an indoor market nor an attraction: it’s real neighborhood shops, open year‑round, where locals do their morning shopping. That’s why we gladly send guests there: you see the 7th in action, not staged. Go in late morning, when everything is open and the terraces start filling. We have listed separately the addresses where we like to eat here and on Rue Saint‑Dominique.

• The Champ de Mars

  · Between the Military School and the Eiffel Tower, 75007 · Free entry

  The large lawn that connects the Military School to the Eiffel Tower, and the most pleasant way to reach the foot of the tower: from the back, on foot, without going through the esplanade crowds. Our view: the half on the Military School side is the quietest, and from there you have the whole tower in view without having to step back. In the late afternoon, it’s the spot we send guests who want to see the sparkle without buying a ticket, and we have written a page on the exact times of that sparkle.