The Museum of the History of France was created at the Palace of Versailles in 1837 by King Louis-Philippe, who transformed the palace from a royal residence into a public museum dedicated to French history. It contains over 6,000 paintings, 3,000 sculptures, and numerous historical artefacts, arranged across the Crusades Rooms, Empire Rooms, Attics, Gallery of Great Battles, and the Coronation Room. Entry is included in all standard Versailles tickets and the museum is open Tuesday to Sunday.
When Louis-Philippe converted Versailles into a museum in 1837, the decision was both politically shrewd and historically significant. Rather than dedicating the palace to any single dynasty, he dedicated it to all of French history — from the medieval crusades to the Napoleonic era — in an attempt to reconcile a deeply divided nation. The result is one of the world’s largest history museums, embedded within one of its greatest palaces. Here’s a guide to its main sections.
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Why the Museum Exists
After the French Revolution, Versailles was stripped and abandoned — a symbol of royal excess that the Republic could not easily repurpose. It was King Louis-Philippe (r. 1830–1848) who saved it, transforming the palace into the Museum of the History of France and opening it to the public on 10 June 1837. His vision was explicit: not a royal museum, not a revolutionary museum, but a museum of all France, spanning 15 centuries, accessible to all citizens.
Architect Frédéric Nepveu designed the new gallery spaces in Baroque and neoclassical styles. The museum now houses over 6,000 paintings, 3,000 sculptures, and thousands of historical artefacts. It attracts approximately one million visitors a year — in addition to the 7+ million who visit the palace itself.
The Crusades Rooms
Located in the North Wing, the five Crusades Rooms were built between 1837 and 1846. They tell the story of the eight major Crusades — from the First Crusade in 1096 to the Eighth in 1270 — through 150 paintings. The rooms also display the coats of arms of noble families who participated in the Crusades, covering the walls in a remarkable heraldic display. The rooms are accessed from the ground floor of the gallery and are one of the most historically distinctive sections of the museum.
The Africa, Crimea, and Italy Rooms
Located on the first floor of the North Wing, these seven rooms illustrate the colonial and European military campaigns of Louis-Philippe’s Algeria campaigns and Napoleon III’s wars in the Crimea and Italy. They are currently used for temporary exhibitions rather than permanent displays, so the content varies between visits. Check the official Versailles website for current exhibitions.
The Empire Rooms
The Empire Rooms are located on the ground floor of the South Wing and chronicle the Napoleonic era in extraordinary detail. Louis-Philippe laid out the construction of 13 rooms; Napoleon himself had commissioned many of the paintings on display. Key works include:
- Napoleon’s Return to Paris from Saint Helena in 1840 — a posthumous commemoration of the emperor’s final return to France
- Napoleon I’s Entry into Berlin in 1806 — following his great victory at Jena
- Napoleon I Walking Through the Battlefield of Eylau in 1807 — one of the most sombre and powerful paintings in the museum, depicting Napoleon surveying the dead after one of the war’s costliest battles
The Empire Rooms offer the most concentrated collection of Napoleonic art outside of the Louvre and are an essential stop for visitors interested in the Revolutionary and Imperial periods.
The North and South Attics
The North Attic features paintings depicting major events of the 19th century and forms part of the Historic Galleries created by Louis-Philippe in 1837. The South Attic (which includes the Chimay Attic, located above the Queen’s Apartment) displays paintings chronologically covering the French Revolution through to the height of the French Empire. Together, the attics form a continuous narrative of French history from the late 18th to mid-19th century.
The Gallery of Great Battles
The Gallery of Great Battles — the largest room in the entire palace at 120 metres long — is technically part of the Museum of the History of France. It contains 33 monumental paintings of French military victories from 496 AD to 1809, 80 memorial busts, and bronze tablets listing over 3,000 names. See our complete Gallery of Great Battles guide for full details.
The Coronation Room
The Coronation Room has an extraordinary history. It served as the palace’s second chapel from 1672 to 1682, then as the Great Guard’s Room for both King and Queen until 1789. In 1833, Louis-Philippe transformed it into a room dedicated to Napoleon Bonaparte. Its centrepiece is a pair of enormous canvases by Jacques-Louis David:
- The Coronation of Napoleon (1804) — depicting the moment Napoleon crowned himself Emperor in Notre-Dame Cathedral
- The Distribution of the Eagle Standards (1804) — Napoleon distributing the imperial eagles to his army regiments on the Champ de Mars
Both are replicas of the originals at the Louvre — though at this scale, the word ‘replica’ undersells them considerably. The room’s decor, with contributions from numerous artists, creates an imposing ceremonial space.
Practical Information
| Detail | Information |
| Location | Ground floor of palace (South Wing for Empire Rooms; North Wing for Crusades Rooms); Gallery of Great Battles on first floor South Wing |
| Hours | Tue–Sun, 9 am – 6:30 pm (Apr–Oct); 9 am – 5:30 pm (Nov–Mar) |
| Entry | Included in all standard Versailles tickets |
| Annual visitors | Approx. 1 million |
| Collection size | 6,000+ paintings, 3,000+ sculptures, numerous artefacts |
| Photography | Permitted throughout (no flash) |
