We had a fantastic tour with Anatole. He is extremely knowledgeable about WW 1 and 2 history. We wanted someone who would help us understand the wars’ causes and important occurrences as well as the significance of many of the objects displayed. He did that superbly. It was also helpful to see Napoleon’s tomb and understand more about his accomplishments. He is also a good storyteller and very personable. Highly recommend this tour!
About Activity
What's Included
Includes
- SKIP-THE-LINE SEMI-PRIVATE MUSEUM TOUR
- SEMI-PRIVATE" MEANS GROUP SIZE IS NEVER MORE THAN 8 GUESTS MAXIMUM
- PROFESSIONAL TOUR GUIDE
- DURATION 2 HOURS
- ALL ENTRANCE FEES
Excludes
- Tour Price Does NOT Include Hotel Pickup or Drop-Off (We Recommend UBER or Taxi)
- Tour Does NOT Include Gratuities (OPTIONAL)
- Temporary exhibitions NOT included
- Tour is NOT available for those with walking disabilities or using a wheelchair
Departure & Return
Departure Point
- Meet your guide outside the main gate of Invalides. The main gate is located on the north entrance at Place des Invalides facing the famous Alexandre III bridge. It’s is the main entrance to enter the Invalides.
Return
- Meet your guide outside the main gate of Invalides. The main gate is located on the north entrance at Place des Invalides facing the famous Alexandre III bridge. It’s is the main entrance to enter the Invalides.
Itinerary
Begin by exploring the 19th century roots that lead to one of the bloodiest wars ever, learning about characters like Bismarck during the Franco-Prussian War. From there, your guide will piece together the chain of events, including the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, that set off World War I. Come face to face with the equipment, uniforms, weapons, and other artifacts that were used during the war’s many battles. Relive the famous Battle of the Marne while seeing one of the iconic taxis that played a crucial role. Watch original footage detailing the atrocities before finally understanding how the Treaty of Versailles ended things. You’ll even see the train car where the armistice was signed, ending the war. Afterwards, you’ll learn how the threat of Adolf Hitler came to be a reality, launching World War II. Discuss significant events like the Ligne Maginot, Dunkerque, and the Occupation of Paris while meandering among artifacts collected from the battlefields. Your guide will discuss famous men like Pétain and De Gaulle who helped guide France through this horrendous war. You will discover stories behind the battles of Normandy and the Liberation of Paris, which lead ultimately the preservation of the city that you can still enjoy today.
Language Offered
Additional Info
Cancellation Policy
Reviews
Emmanuel was so kind and expert about this museum. Thank you. We learned to much
We had a wonderful tour with Daniel. I learned so much and so happy I booked this tour. Would definitely book more tours with this company.
Had a wonderful tour with Daniel. I learned so much of WW1 and WW2!! He was so knowledgeable on all subjects.
This tour is a must if you are in Paris. No better place to learn about war history in France. Our guide was Daniel, his depth of knowledge was amazing but the passion for shearing it was even better!
Mitch was very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and friendly. He is also very charming and likable. Fortunately I have an interest in military history so I was able to appreciate his depth of knowledge.
Mitch was incredible and such a knowledgeable and considerate guide. We were thoroughly impressed with him and he made us feel comfortable and at ease asking any questions. We are thankful for his expertise in the museum and all he taught us!
It’s an immense museum chock full of history and having a guide who prioritizes your interests is essential. Romain was an excellent guide, extremely knowledgeable and very helpful.
Romain was a fantastic guide for our tour of Napoleon’s tomb and very knowledgeable on WW1 history for the rest of our tour. Highly recommended!
A great way to spend some time and learn some history about Paris/France’s efforts during the war! Our guide, Mathieu, was patient and willing to answer any questions!
This was a fantastic tour! Our guide Anatole went above and beyond his knowledge is second to none! There is so much to see and he made sure to point out the things we would have otherwise missed!
We had an amazing tour with Laurent. Les Invalides is an often overlooked landmark in Paris. Most who do visit only go to Napoleon’s tomb. If this is you - you are missing so much. Laurent took us through the WWI and WWII exhibits. He not only engaged us in this significant period of history but he helped give us such a unique perspective and experience. We learned so much and enjoyed every minute. I highly recommend not skipping Les Invalides next time.
Anatole was our guide, and he was amazing His knowledge and humor was the best. This place is so wonderful! So much to see and not enough time.
Very impressive tour. Our guide was very knowledgeable and personable. The grounds were beautiful. There were interesting exhibits that were stunning in their displays. Highly recommend.
Florentino was our personal guide and we all had nothing but positive things to say about him. Very knowledgeable, personable and funny at times. We learned a lot and enjoyed our time with him. I would highly recommend to anyone thinking about this tour.
Florian was a really good expert in historical facts. We enjoyed the trip really much! From 13 century and the end of napoleons reign he gave us nice insights. Thank you Florian!
Our tour guide Florian was great. It was supposed to be a semi-private tour, but it ended up being just my family of four. A lot of these tours in Paris do seem overpriced to me for what they are, but we enjoyed our time and got to see a lot. Eiffel Tower, I have booked multiple tours through Viator in Paris, and again they all seem very pricey to me, but without the guide, you would learn a lot less history and not always know the best things to go see. No
We really enjoyed our tour to the museum with our guide Florent. Very well planned, the meeting place was easy to find, our guide was prompt. Our tour was viewing world war 1 and 2. Florent was extremely knowledgable on both wars. He was friendly, professional and presented the information in a way that was easy to understand. He literally “ lit up” giving his tour and it was easy to see how much he enjoyed his job and sharing all of his knowledge. It was honestly our favorite tour during our stay in Paris and we were on quite a few tours. Thank you again Florent!
Fabulous tour! Our guide, Florent, was an exceptional guide. We have taken many tours in Paris and he was by far the best. Hope you get him as your guide on this tour.
Anatole gave a lot of information and was quite dedicated to making sure we had a good experience. I would recommend him for anyone that wishes to learn.
A bad tour guide can make your experience very disappointing. Our tour guide did not engage with the group, didn’t show us the displays with enthusiasm nor explained the museum as we were expecting for the amount of money that we paid for this semi-private (8ppl tour).
Details of French history given by our tour guide of events leading up to WWI; the magnificent building and Napoleon’s tomb As well as a little cafe across the street from the building where we spent some time before our tour began Beautiful!
Daniel was incredibly knowledgeable and really knew his stuff. He was very interactive with his group and provided an awesome tour
My wife and I booked a semi-private tour with Florent that due to the low tourist season became a private tour. We had a really great time. Florent is a passionate historian who is a good storyteller and has the ability to connect with people. He can speak French, English, and German fluently and is working on Spanish. Great and friendly tour guide! The museum itself is large but we hit all the main attractions. I'd recommend to anyone who is interested in history
Daniel was an excellent and well informed guide, who adapted his tour to focus on the interests of his audience (my 14 year old son).
Highly recommendable. Took us through the Franco-preussian War, WW1 and WW2. Oliver was an excellent guide.
Excellent service. Our guide Anastasia was very knowledgeable and guided us thru the museum with many interesting facts that we would have missed on a self guided tour. Napoleons tomb was really interesting and without a good guide we would have missed so many details of the interesting history.
Anastasia was very knowledgeable and her art expertise was a different insight from what other guides could have been a ken to do. We enjoyed our time with her very much.
Our tour guide was exceptional. He had tons of facts but also kept it fun (as much as you could in a war museum!). My 20 year old son said he ranked it in the top 3 tours and we did about 2 tours a day for about a week. Would recommend!
We toured Les Invalides with Julian and he was absolutely amazing! While my son has always been interested in history, he'd had very little exposure to military history. We walked through and learned about the evolution of different weapons and tactics and then learned a tremendous amount about France's role in both world wars. It was information and exposure that he never would have received in the states. Julian was patient and really kept my son engaged the entire tour.
We toured Les Invalides with our guide, Anastasia. The museum is enormous, and Anastasia's extensive knowledge of the museum was invaluable. Having a knowledgeable guide who could explain both what we were seeing, as well as the historical perspective and significance was so helpful. The time flew by. My husband is a military history buff, and was very satisfied with our experience. I felt as though we learned so much from Anastasia's comments, and definitely had a much more immersive experience. We would heartily recommend this tour, and Anastasia in particular. Well done!
Anastasia was a wonderful and knowledgeable tour guide! We saw Napoleon's tomb and learned so much about French history. It was a great way to appreciate the rich history of this wonderful country. The collection of artifacts was amazing!! Highly recommend it.
We had Dunya as our guide, a smooth and pleasant lady, who took us on an expedition full of passion and knowledge. A recommendation!
Impressive, I spent almost 5 hours there, and I had to hurry on the end not to miss my appointment because I could have easily spent 3 more hours. This museum and impressive for the quantity of weapons, armor, outfits, documents it contains.
A completely different view of Napoleon. Fantastic guide, Michele! No stress, takes all the time and can convey history well.
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