My review of the skip-the-line guided tour
Verdict: the most conventional format, and the only one of the two guided tours available in French. A qualified guide, entry already reserved to the museum and the tomb, about two hours. If you are a French speaker who wants commentary, this is the one, without hesitation.
What sets it apart
Three differences from the small-group tour, and they matter. Language: this one also runs in French. Duration: a quarter of an hour more, which sounds small but lets the guide stop in the great courtyard instead of crossing it. Format: a private option exists, useful with a family.
What it does not change: you see the same places. No guided tour of Les Invalides covers four museums in two hours, and any that claimed to would only be marching you past them.
Included
- A qualified guide, in French or English
- Museum entry with skip-the-line access
- Access to Napoleon’s tomb
- All entrance fees
Not included
- The relief maps and the two World Wars, on your own afterwards
- Meals
- The Rodin Museum, a separate institution
What recurs in the reviews
The meeting point dominates the practical remarks: it is at La Tour-Maubourg, not in front of the Dôme, and visitors who read too quickly end up on the wrong side of the building — which, across thirteen hectares, costs a quarter of an hour. The geography of the site is on the getting-there page.
The second theme is skip-the-line, whose value the reviews sometimes overstate. It saves the ticket-desk queue, real in summer and during holidays, but there is no security queue here comparable to other Paris monuments. In February it does almost nothing: see the booking page.
What works
- Available in French
- Entry already reserved: no desk queue
- A quarter of an hour longer than the small group
- A private option is possible
Worth knowing
- The group may be larger than eight people
- Does not cover the whole museum
- Meeting point at La Tour-Maubourg, worth finding in advance
- Skip-the-line adds little in low season
Book this tour
Available departures are below.
Frequently asked questions
Is it offered in French?
Yes, in French and English.
Is skip-the-line useful?
In summer and during holidays, yes. In low season it adds almost nothing.
Do you see the whole museum?
No, and no guided tour does: see the what-to-see page.