Get to Napoleon’s Tomb at Les Invalides using the right entrance for your ticket. Find metro and bus routes, access from the airport and train stations, luggage rules, parking, and the details that prevent a wrong-door arrival.
Metro Line 13 to Varenne is a simple choice for the Dôme side. Check your ticket first, because guided tours may meet elsewhere.
Use Varenne for a direct approach to the Dôme side. It also works well from Saint-Lazare and the north of Paris.
Use La Tour-Maubourg or Invalides on Line 8. This line suits visitors coming from eastern and central Paris.
Several bus routes stop around Invalides, La Tour-Maubourg and Varenne. It can suit a hotel near the route.
Ask for 129 rue de Grenelle or 2 place Vauban, not only “Les Invalides”. The two sides are not interchangeable.
Walking works well from nearby museums, the Esplanade des Invalides, or the Rue de Grenelle side of the district.
Invalides station on RER C is useful for travellers arriving from places served by the RER. Finish on foot at the entrance named on your ticket.
Several Vélib’ stations are near the complex, including rue de Constantine, boulevard des Invalides, rue Surcouf and avenue de la Motte-Piquet.
Les Invalides covers a large block. Reaching the dome does not always mean you have reached the entrance for your visit.
This public entrance is on the Esplanade des Invalides side. Use it when your ticket or current access instructions direct you there.
This is the public entrance on the Dôme des Invalides side. It is useful for the southern approach when your booking directs you here.
A guide may meet guests outside the museum, on another street, or at one of the entrances. The meeting point is product-specific.
From 18:00 on the first Friday of each month, evening access is through 129 rue de Grenelle.
“Les Invalides” can lead to either side of the complex. Use the street address on your latest ticket or tour voucher before leaving the metro.
Line 13 is useful for Varenne. Line 8 serves La Tour-Maubourg and Invalides. Choose by your starting point and entrance.
Line 13 is useful from Saint-Lazare and other stations on its north-south route.
Line 8 is practical from central and eastern Paris. Invalides also connects with Line 13 and RER C.
RER C reaches Invalides station. It can be useful when your hotel or arrival point is already on the RER C route.
Use the RATP journey planner for live routes and disruption notices. Check service changes on the day, especially during events or engineering work.
The listed routes stop around Invalides, La Tour-Maubourg and Varenne. Choose the stop that leaves you closest to your ticketed entrance.
Useful when it matches your hotel area. Check the stop and live route before travelling.
These routes can suit visitors travelling across central Paris without changing to the metro.
Use live stop information and check which side of the complex you need.
These can work from districts on their routes, but traffic may affect the journey.
Buses can be diverted. Use the RATP planner for live stops, service changes and the best final walk.
These are route patterns, not guaranteed timings. Use live transport information before you set off.
| Starting point | Simple route | Why it works | Final step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Lazare | Metro 13 to Varenne | Direct line | Check ticket address before leaving Varenne. |
| Champs-Élysées area | Metro 1, then Line 13 | Useful central interchange | Leave at Varenne for the Dôme side. |
| Latin Quarter | Metro 10, then Line 13 | Connects to Varenne | Follow the ticketed street address. |
| Montparnasse | Metro 13 to Varenne | Direct line | Check Place Vauban or Rue de Grenelle. |
| Opéra area | Metro 8 to Invalides | Direct line | Continue to the entrance named on your ticket. |
| Musée d’Orsay area | RER C to Invalides | One rail link | Use the exact entrance address for the final walk. |
Public transport needs a transfer. A taxi avoids changes, but still needs the correct entrance address.
Use this route if you are comfortable changing in central Paris and have manageable luggage.
Choose the live route shown for your terminal. A central connection to Line 13, Line 8, or RER C can work.
Use the official airport taxi rank. Show either 129 rue de Grenelle or 2 place Vauban in writing.
Landing is not arrival at the museum. Immigration, baggage, airport transport, a transfer and the final walk all come first. Drop luggage before a timed visit where practical.
Follow signs for the Metro or RER before leaving the station to search for surface transport.
Use Line 13 for Varenne, Line 8 for La Tour-Maubourg or Invalides, or RER C for Invalides.
The station is not the entrance. Open the ticket and walk to the correct side of Les Invalides.
The complex is large. Traffic lights, perimeter walls and the wrong façade can make a short-looking route slower.
This route works for visitors approaching from the north side of the Invalides grounds.
This is useful when your ticket directs you to 2 place Vauban or a meeting point on the Dôme side.
Getting close is simple. Parking and the final approach need separate planning.
Ask for 129 rue de Grenelle or 2 place Vauban. A general “Invalides” destination may leave you at the wrong side.
A paying car park is listed at 23 rue de Constantine. Check access and availability before driving into central Paris.
Traffic controls, bus lanes and event arrangements can change the closest drop-off point. Finish the approach on foot.
A nearby station does not prove that every lift, exit and booked area is accessible on the day.
Check lift status at your starting station, any interchange, and the station where you leave the network.
Published entrance information conflicts for visitors with motor disabilities. Contact the museum before travelling for the current route.
Napoleon’s Tomb inside the Dôme is not accessible to visitors with reduced mobility because there are exterior and interior steps.
Wheelchairs can be borrowed at reception desks, subject to availability and proof of identity. Other museum areas have lifts.
Travel light. A suitcase problem can stop the visit before you reach the ticket check.
A free cloakroom is available. It accepts bags only up to 55 × 35 × 25 cm.
Do not assume a larger suitcase can be stored. Arrange separate luggage storage before arrival if needed.
For AURA Invalides, suitcases, scooters, strollers and bulky items are not allowed. Arrive 20 minutes early for security checks.
Save the ticket, exact entrance or meeting instructions, and the operator contact details before leaving your hotel. Battery and signal problems are easiest to solve before the metro.
The route ends at the entrance, not at the metro station. Add time for orientation and the final walk.
Online booking uses a visit slot. Reach the correct side of the complex before the window ends.
Your guide may meet you away from the museum entrance. Follow the voucher rather than a general map result.
Street names are more useful than a distant view of the dome. Use them to confirm the final approach.
This is the public entrance on the Esplanade des Invalides side and the evening entrance on first Fridays after 18:00.
This is the public entrance on the southern Dôme des Invalides side.
Varenne on Line 13 is a useful station for the southern approach toward the Dôme side.
Invalides connects Metro Lines 8 and 13 with RER C. It confirms you are near the northern side of the complex.
Place Vauban confirms the Dôme side. It is also the named entrance point for AURA Invalides.
A correct route only helps if it ends at the right door, at the right time, with the right ticket details.
Use the latest ticket or operator message, not an old calendar entry or saved screenshot.
Keep 129 rue de Grenelle, 2 place Vauban, or your tour meeting point ready on your phone.
Look for service changes, diversions and engineering work before you enter the network.
The cloakroom accepts bags only up to 55 × 35 × 25 cm. Do not arrive with a larger suitcase.
Screenshot the ticket and meeting instructions before leaving Wi-Fi.
Your phone may hold the ticket, map, route planner and guide contact details.
Use the address on your ticket: 129 rue de Grenelle, 2 place Vauban, or the meeting point for your tour.
For most visitors, use Line 13 to Varenne or Line 8 to La Tour-Maubourg or Invalides.
Add time for the station exit, walking to the correct side, and any entrance procedure.