Museums closed on Mondays?

I am used to having the option of stores being open every day.   We learned early in our trip that most grocery stores were closed on Sundays especially in smaller towns.  It made for a very modest dinner one Sunday night when we shared some leftover noodles and a can of beans.  Good thing I had bought some canned cassoulet out of curiosity earlier in the week.  Cassoulet is the French version of Pork and Beans but with Duck, as least that's what you get when you buy it canned.

Now that we were in Paris we discovered that the busy museums also have to close a day during the week and it seemed that Monday was the day most were closed (Louvre is closed on Tuesday).  The Orangerie Museum and the Army museum (Musee de l'Armee) were open so those were our destinations for the day.

The Orangerie is the destination for fans of Monet as his giant sized water lilies paintings are on display in two specially designed oval room.  There are also collections of other significant impressionist and post impressionist paintings on display as well.  It was a small museum but a worthwhile stop. Afterwards we walked over the army museum across the river.  It was hot so we tried to stay in the shade ad much as possible. 

The Army museum is housed in Les Invalides which was originally built in the late 1600s as a hospital and housing for old soldiers.  Now this enormous structure contains various exhibits from all the eras of battles.  There were lots of armor and those worn by the king on display, swords and old cannons, rifles and so on.  There was also an exhibition on the two World Wars with lots of historical perspective.  There was also an exhibition of the land battles in Frances history which explains how the country and land was shaped.

The centerpiece of the Les Invalides compound is the chapel and the occupants buried there.  Napoleon is front and center under the gold dome in a display that's more impressive than those burial sites for kings.

While this museum was extensive and impressive, it was horribly laid out with limited facilities.  I think there was only one set of restrooms and the cafe was really small.  I usually don't like to eat at the overpriced museum cafes but since you are visiting all day you need a place to eat and drink.  We saved some money by bringing our own sandwiches but bought the drinks so that we could sit in the partially air conditioned room.  AC was important as it was over 95 degrees outside.