Hi, Fodorites.

Will be in France in May and wondering if anyone has any first-hand experiences or recommendations for tours/museums/lectures centered around the French Revolution and/or the Napoleonic wars.

I have Musee Carnavalet on my list, and there are many tours advertised, but wondering if anyone has experience/recommendations...?
Thank you in advance for any ideas.

https://www.paris-walks.com/summer-walks_m.html

Stu Dudley

I just did a tour with https://www.parisology.net/ on the French Revolution and it was fantastic! Very informative - and also the tour guide cracked me up! He also has a separate tour on the Napoleonic era.

Thank you both for the feedback. Good to hear you enjoyed the Parisology tour. That looks like a good one! I can only get excited about a trip if I can understand a bit of its history.

You might be interested in a short trip out to Brussels to see Waterloo, where Napoleon was defeated. It is quite a fiddle getting there but interesting: By train | Waterloo Tourisme

Lavandula

@lavendula Thank you for your post! I never considered the village of Waterloo, but the museums there look wonderful. I'm horrified by the loss of life during this time, but the history and lessons relevant to today are fascinating.
I really want to go to Brussels to visit the greenhouses at Laeken, but it's turning out to be a fairly expensive ticket as I didn't buy early enough. Still debating, as this was the initial reason to spend time away from England, so I'll see if I can cut time in Paris, as I'm less excited about spending time there.

You can visit Napoleon's Tomb at Les Invalides, and there are some of his personal possessions on display in the museum itself. As an aside, I have a recollection of a cartoon (but cannot find in on the internet) that was published at the time his remains were repatriated to France; it is an image of Napoleon rising from his tomb, much to the dismay of his enemies.

Thank you, AnselmAdorne . That's a wonderful suggestion. I must add that to my list. I'm fascinated by the cartoons from the time, and as I've been rather ignorant of French history, have been trying to learn the context of the long revolution and the many wars and battles. It's a lot.

The timing is everything with the greenhouses at Laeken. Also at the end of April, the wild bluebells at Hallerbos (Halle, near Brussels) are in bloom. Like Waterloo it's hard to get there, but here is a link for you to find out if it fits into your plans: https://www.hallerbos.be/en/ - I note you are travelling in May. Nevertheless, you may be able to find a way to do it

Lavandula

How beautiful, lavandula. Have you been to the Laeken greenhouses? I may have to wait for another visit.

Without knocking the opportunity to visit France for any reason, the idea of visiting this mass killer's tour is frankly a little odd https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napole...ars_casualties

See also the Pol Pot tour, Ghengis Khan theme park etc etc

I'm not a fan of Napoleon, nor am I ignorant of the horrible loss of life and blood lust of many players at this time, but I am fascinated by history. I love seeing the dress and day to day items of people alive in the 18th and 19th century, that's why I was interested in seeing his belongings, not his mausoleum. It's why I visit so many historical sites and museums in England. It's really not kind or helpful to post in some ugly attempt to scold travellers for their interests.

"It's really not kind or helpful to post in some ugly attempt to scold travellers for their interests."

not scolding, just seemed a little odd to me
I guess I'm used to people visiting Auschwitz rather than Hitler's birth place, each to their own, enjoy

It was really wonderful! If you take his tour, tell Thierry Rosie from his March tour says hello!

That makes no sense, and still loaded with ugliness and snark. Many people are fascinated with Napoleon's impact on the world. Your postings are not useful or necessary.

Please try to ignore the holier than thou posts from some regulars here. They often forget this is a travelers page, not some venue for virtue signaling.

snark is not an expression I have come across... as I say (and said) each to their own, enjoy

nothing holier about me, ok I tend to avoid visiting the great houses of people who grew rich out of the slave trade, but I don't avoid many places which belonged to those who battled for what they thought was right, just not so sure about 6 million dead. Equally have never wanted to visit Russia for much the same reason (21 million just felt too much). But I've visited Syria despite the Homs massacre and Libya despite everything.

Bilbo: give it a break. Discuss your comments down the pub. Not in this forum.

I'm having a bit of a sensitive day, I suppose. I usually let comments slide but this rubbed me on the raw. Everyone's entitled to their opinions.

You're British for Christs sake. Please note, irony doesn't mean "like an iron".