Louis XIV built the Hôtel des Invalides in the 1670s as a home and hospital for wounded soldiers, and its gilded dome — re-gilded with real gold leaf for successive anniversaries — is one of the defining shapes of the Paris skyline. Beneath it, in an open circular crypt, lies Napoleon, his remains returned from Saint Helena in 1840 and sealed inside a nest of six coffins under a vast porphyry sarcophagus.
The complex also houses the Musée de l'Armée, one of the largest military history museums in the world, running from medieval armour to the two World Wars. Allow a couple of hours for the museum and the tomb together. The broad esplanade out front, sloping down to the river and the Pont Alexandre III, is one of the grandest open spaces in the city.