Monthly Archives: June 2013

Les Invalides is basically a group of monuments and museums that contain artifacts (guns, canons, uniforms, tombs, etc) all relating to the military.

The arch was commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to celebrate all of his victories. Bummer for him, he was ousted before the arch was completed. (It wasn’t completed until 1836 during Louis-Philippe’s reign.) The Arc de Triomphe is engraved with names of generals who commanded French troops during Napoleon’s time in power. It is lit up at night and is breathtaking. It is also fun to climb up for a view from the top where you can see the 12 streets that come from it creating a star. The Champs-Élysées is the most famous street among the twelve.
Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I. An eternal flame burns in memory of the unidentified dead.

Apparently, they have a daily ceremony under the arch which was happening in the last photo. They are, unfortunately, blocking the eternal flame.

Aphrodite of Milos is better known as the Venus de Milo. She is an ancient Greek statue and was created sometime between 130 and 100 BC. The statue is believed to be Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She is marble and stands 6 ft 8 inches high. Supposedly, her arms were lost following her discovery. She is quite pretty and seems to stand alone in a small corner of the Louvre.