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and at one time 4,000 military men lived here. Today, a portion of it remains a veterans’ residence and hospital. There’s also the Musée de l’Armée, an exhaustive collection of military artifacts from antique armor to weapons. If you see only one sight here, make it the Église du Dome at the back of the complex. Napoléon’s tomb was moved here in 1840 from the island of Saint Helena, where the emperor died in forced exile. Napoléon’s body is protected by a series of no fewer than six coffins, one inside the next (sort of like a Russian nesting doll), which is then encased in a sarcophagus of red quartzite. The bombastic tribute is ringed by statues symbolizing Napoléon’s campaigns of conquest. Also on display are the emperor’s trademark gray frock coat and huge bicorne hat. For the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution, in 1989, the dome was regilded using more than half a million gold leaves, or more than 20 pounds of gold. Renovations of the church and the museum are ongoing, so parts of it may be closed. | Pl. des Invalides, Tour Eiffel | 75007 | 01–44–42–38–77 | www.invalides.org | €9 | Eglise du Dôme and museums Apr.–Sept., daily 10–6; Oct.–Mar., daily 10–5; closed 1st Mon. of every month | Station: La Tour-Maubourg/Invalides.

Jardin du Luxembourg (Luxembourg Gardens).

Immortalized in countless paintings, the Luxembourg Gardens possess all that is unique and befuddling about Parisian parks: swarms of pigeons, cookie-cutter trees, ironed-and-pressed dirt walkways, and immaculate lawns meant for admiring, not touching. The tree- and bench-lined paths offer a reprieve from the incessant bustle of the Quartier Latin, as well as an opportunity to discover the dotty old women and smooching university students who once found their way into Doisneau photographs. The park’s northern boundary is dominated by the Palais du Luxembourg, now the Senate. A sweet attraction is the Théâtre des Marionnettes where, on weekends at 11 and 3:15 and on Wednesday at 3:15 (hours may vary), you can catch a classic puppet show for a small charge. Kids will also love the merry-go-round, swings, pony rides, and toy sailboats for rent that ply the lake. Marie de Medici, widow of Henry IV, ordered the palace built in the style of the Florentine Medici home, the Palazzo Pitti. The Musée du Luxembourg (01–44–32–18–00 www.museeduluxembourg.fr), which is part of the palace, plays host to prestigious (and crowded) temporary exhibitions. | Bordered by Bd. St-Michel and Rues de Vaugirard, de Médicis, Guynemer, and Auguste-Comte, St-Germain-des-Prés | 75006 | Free | Daily until dusk | Station: Odéon; RER: Luxembourg.

Fodor’s Choice | Musée d’Orsay.

In a spectacularly converted Belle Époque train station, the Orsay Museum—devoted to the arts (mainly French) spanning the period 1848–1914—is one of the city’s most popular, thanks to the presence of the world’s greatest collection of Impressionist and Postimpressionist paintings. Here you can find Manet’s Déjeuner sur l’Herbe (Lunch on the Grass), the painting that scandalized Paris in 1863 when it was shown at the Salon des Refusés, an exhibit organized by artists refused permission to show their work at the Academy’s official annual salon, as well as the artist’s provocative nude, Olympia. There’s a dazzling rainbow of masterpieces by Renoir (including his beloved Le Moulin de la Galette), Sisley, Pissarro, and Monet. The Postimpressionists—Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Toulouse-Lautrec—are on the top floor. On the ground floor you can find the work of Manet, the powerful realism of Courbet, and the delicate nuances of Degas. If you prefer more academic paintings, look for Puvis de Chavannes’s larger-than-life classical canvases. And if you’re excited by more modern developments, look for the early-20th-century Fauves (meaning “wild beasts,” the name given them by an outraged critic in 1905)—particularly Matisse, Derain, and Vlaminck.

The museum is arranged on three floors. Once past the ticket booths (get your tickets in advance through the Web site to avoid the lines), you can pick up an English-language