Les Invalides

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So, gentle reader I hear you sigh and wonder how a trip to Les Invalides can be shoe horned into a British Civil War gaming blog...

There are many reasons why you should visit Les Invalides when visiting Paris, but possibly the best reason to justify a visit is the fact that the ticket office queue is usually pretty none existent and therefore becomes the best place to buy your Paris Museum Pass from (which means you can join the shorter queues at all the other museums).

Think of Les Invalides and you will immediately imagine a temple to l'Emperor. Well it is, his body is entombed under the very impressive golden dome after all. Whilst all that is jolly good to see, my blog will focus upon the Renaissance exhibits.

There are morions a plenty and some beautiful suits of armour, many rivalling the lion armour in the Royal Armouries collection (they have their own suit of lion armour too).



Fine selection of wheelock muskets (didn't immediately see any matchlocks but then I did have to get up at silly o'clock to get to the airport).



Here I digress somewhat...

Some years ago I came across a French gourget with an imperial eagle,  didn't know exactly what it was but it was going cheap. So much excitement upon finding my gourget in the Second French Empire section, and learning that it is from a marine regiment. (Plus mine is more complete as it has the leather backing which the Invalides one doesn't.)



From a display case at Les Invalides


From the bookcase at Château KeepYourPowderDry

Plus of course my favourite bit of the whole museum - the armour storeroom.



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