Crowds at Paris Pantheon and Military Museum?

https://www.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/Discovery-area/Pantheon-Paris

Interesting material on the building's restoration. I notice that Foucault's Pendulum seems to be involved.

The military museum is vast and, at a guess, specialized enough that huge crowds are unlikely any time. But that's only a guess, and not seasonal.

I was in Paris in July of 2017. The main tourist places-Eiffel, Louvre, Champs etc. were packed with people. I don't remember the Pantheon having that many and the military museum even less. The military museum was one of the highlights to visit.

I've not visited that time of year but really, not much line if any at all for the Army Museum. I DO suggest you have a plan here because it's huge and covers a huge span of time. I particularly like the WWI and WWII galleries. I wound up spending WAY too much time there one day - about 5 hours - and it nearly did me in. So....do a little prep work ahead of time on which time frames are of interest to you. Do look a the website the day before you plan to go as sometimes they have unexpected closures for ceremonies.

https://www.musee-armee.fr/en/your-visit.html

The only line up is usually at the security checkpoint at the entrance and it's brief.

The last time I dropped by I did so because the line for Museum Pass-holders at d'Orsay was blocks long so I headed over to the Army Museum and zero line.

I agree with Pam. We went on a rainy Sunday in April in 2018 and got timed tickets for several hours later for a special exhibit. Spent a lot of time at Napoleon's tomb, so beautiful! Then didn't have enough time for all the galleries. We will definitely go back.

Hi,

Normally, ie, prior to this current virus crisis, the Military Museum in Paris is not crowded. I've been there at that time end of June/early July over the years.

The most recent visit was in 2018 when the Museum held a special exhibit focusing on "Napoleon as Strategist." Very elaborate using the battles of Austerlitz and Waterloo, his greatest victory, where the armies of two Great Powers arrayed against Napoleon were destroyed in a single day, the first time in modern European history, and Napoleon's decisive and final defeat at Waterloo, requiring the combined armies of Prussia and England to overwhelm him.

I saw the Pantheon once in 1999, also in July. It was not crowdeed. Like The Military Museum who knows with virus crisis?

You might be lucky in seeing a miltary "band" performing in the court yard of the Les Invalides. I saw that once, (2003?) basically lucked out seeing the musicians dressed up in the uniforms of the Old Guard of Napoleon's Imperial Guard playing the French military marches of the era.

We went to both last September. The military museum was not crowded on a Saturday morning when the weather was perfect. The Pantheon was crowded on Sunday afternoon when it was raining..

Neither of these have massive crowds. I've only experience them in the months of May/early June and September/ early October. I expect the crowds grow considerably as you get into the summer months.

The Army museum has some line to get in. After that, the museum itself is massive. You can choose the period you're interested in and will be touring with others, but I've never seen a large tour group there. It's possible Napoleon's tomb might get a big tour group. I haven't experienced even the tomb with uncomfortable crowds.

The Pantheon might get crowded when tour groups are running. I can't remember much of a line at any time. Sometimes it seems more crowded than others but it's never felt uncomfortable. I can see how a rainy day might make tourist focus on indoor options.

I was in Paris in June of last year, bought my pass at the Military Museum and really had no line. I also hit the l'Orangerie and the Orsay, and with the pass it was pretty much walk right in. There was a fast moving line for the Sainte Chapelle. The Pantheon I would imagine there is rarely a line. I did not hit most of the other major sites since this was a return trip for me, and on business, so limited sightseeing time.

This year? Hard to tell. Hopefully the Corvid virus will be a memory, or limited at that time, but I imagine people are holding off commiting to a trip at this time.

Thank you, very much, for everyone's responses. I will make sure that I can spend plenty of time at the Military Museum since there is so much too see.

"...since there is so much to see." Ain't that the truth. It all depends on your interest in warfare history, say from the 1600s to post WW2. The WW1 section has been expanded because of the centennial in 2014.

The WW2 section includes information of the war not normally covered in Anglophone works on the war. You'll see uniforms of the belligerents, not just French anf the British and Germans, but also the those of the Russians, Serbs, Bulgarians (the French military presence in WW! was also there), USA, ...more of the WW1 section is in English now in contrast to prior to the centennial.

"You'll see uniforms of the belligerents, not just French and the British and Germans, but also the those of the Russians, Serbs, Bulgarians (the French military presence in WW1 was also there), USA,"

Fred, one of the things I noticed last time were a pair of STRAW overboots from the Russian front in WWII. My word...how in the world did men march in to battle with those things on? I guess it kept their feet from freezing off but it just shows how poorly some armies were supplied. So very interesting. Contrasted that with a nearby display of French uniforms in the Sahara including kit for the horses. And then there is the Renault taxi which took troops from Paris to the front lines in WWI.