Museum of the Legion of Honour and Orders of Chivalry

Updated on September 30, 2026

Opposite the Musée d’Orsay in the seventh arrondissement, the Museum of the Legion of Honour and Orders of Chivalry tells the story of French and foreign decorations from the Middle Ages to the present day. Its galleries bring together some 5,000 works of art and decorations: insignia, portraits, weapons of honour, costumes and documents. Opened in 1925 in a wing of the Hôtel de Salm, seat of the Grand Chancellery, it follows French history through the men and women the country has honoured. Admission is free.

Highlights

The Hôtel de Salm

This mansion was built from 1782 for Prince Frederick III of Salm-Kyrburg, then bought in 1804 for the Legion of Honour, created two years earlier by Bonaparte. Burnt down during the Commune in 1871 and then rebuilt, it still houses the Grand Chancellery. The palace and its colonnaded courtyard are not part of the museum visit, but you can see its rotunda from the quai Anatole-France.

Napoleon and the Legion of Honour

A large portrait of Napoleon in coronation robes dominates this red-walled room. Around it, the display cases show weapons of honour, the first Legion of Honour insignia and the orders created under the Empire, such as the Iron Crown and the Order of the Reunion.

From the Second Empire to the orders of the world

A portrait of Napoleon III recalls the creation of the Military Medal in 1852; the display cases then follow decorations up to the two World Wars. Don’t miss the Mario Spada room, which presents more than 400 orders and decorations from 122 states.

Infos pratiques

Tips

Admission is free and requires no booking for individual visitors (prices checked in September 2026). Download the free Bloomberg Connects app before you come: it offers the museum’s podcasts, images and texts in French, English and Spanish. Groups of up to 25 people must book, even for a self-guided visit. Visitors with reduced mobility should ask the reception staff at 2 rue de la Légion-d’Honneur.