Tour Eiffel - Invalides
Yes, this is it, the world-famous silhouette, the Eiffel Tower. It reigns over a district which is home to a magnificent wealth of monuments, from the golden dome of Les Invalides to the new Quai Branly Museum. It is a district which offers an atmosphere of quiet nobility, with large, rectilinear avenues lined with gardens and rich townhouses, between which, here and there, an Embassy or a Ministry is to be found.
A monument for every century
Concerned by the fate of retired injured soldiers, in 1670, Louis XIV commissioned the building of the Hôtel des Invalides, deigned to provide shelter for them. The construction work triggered an urbanisation project in the surrounding area which was to become the 7th arrondissement. In the 18th century, the market gardening plots stretching between the Seine River and the newly created Military School were turned into drill grounds. The Champ-de-Mars was the site for the Fête de la Fédération in 1790 and, from 1887, was chosen for the construction of the future Eiffel Tower, despite opposition to the building’s avant-garde appearance. The arrondissement favoured by the aristocracy and the upper middle classes, the 7th has recently benefited from the construction of an innovative museum on Primitive Arts situated at Quai Branly.
From Les Invalides to Unesco
The gold of Alexandre III Bridge, the symbol of Franco-Russian friendship, reflects admirably the light from the dome of Les Invalides, a 17th century architectural masterpiece. In 1989, 12kg of pure gold were required to give it back its shine… Les Invalides, this mini-city with its museums, its church and its own hospital, occupies a quiet area where residences share the landscape with important administrations. A road leading towards Faubourg St-Germain offers the opportunity to discover the National Assembly in Palais Bourbon, a few embassies and Hôtel Matignon, the Prime Minister’s residence. Further east, lies the fashionable and commercial district of Sèvre-Babylone, and southwest, at the end of long and vast avenues, lies the head office of Unesco: another senior civil service landmark the three buildings of which offer an insight into the architectural trends of the middle of the 20th century.
Around the Eiffel Tower
From Place de Fontenoy, it is possible to access the remarkable interior courtyard of the Military School. On the other side, its classical facade opens out on to the Champs-de-Mars, which, with the first rays of sunshine, plays host to picnics and children’s games in a relaxing atmosphere. It is an ideal site from which to admire the overall ruler of this district, the Eiffel Tower. It is hard to imagine that the most visited monument in the capital was almost destroyed at the start of the 20th century. Today, a very successful light display highlights the beauty of its metallic lace when night falls and, now, more than ever, the tower plays at being a star. At its foot, towards Les Invalides, spreads out an astonishingly lively and commercial district. Visitors may stroll along Rue Cler and Avenue Rapp before admiring the most recent gem in Western Paris: Quai Branly Museum, devoted to the arts and civilisations of Africa, Oceania, Asia and America. It is an architectural and museographic experience not to be missed.