Abbey and former hospital of Val de Grâce
Former army hospital, the Val-de-Grâce hosted, until its closure in 2016, some of the greatest political and diplomatic figures of the 20th century: François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, Yasser Arafat, Abdelaziz Bouteflika or even the 'Abbé Pierre is one of the most emblematic patients of the establishment.
This visit will reveal 400 years of history and some of the secrets of this great military institution.
Founded in the 17th century by Anne of Austria, the Royal Abbey of Val-de-Grâce is located in the Faubourg Saint-Jacques, outside the walls of the capital. The abbey thus became thanks to the new regent and the miracle of the birth of the future sovereign Louis XIV, the most sumptuous convent in Paris.
This visit will first be an opportunity to discover the abbey church and its exceptional architecture, a mixture of Italian Baroque and emerging French classicism. You will also discover the sumptuous canopy which surmounts the high altar. You will also travel with your guide through the exceptional collection of apothecaries reconstructed with its Italian majolica and medical utensils from Antiquity to the 18th century. Finally, your guide will introduce you to the rooms of the museum of the health service of the armies which became, during the French Revolution, the School of Application and the former military hospital of Val de Grâce.
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