Musée des Plans-Reliefs

A large number of models were built during and after the War of the Austrian Succession (1741–1748) to represent newly captured sites.

The collection was updated in 1754, but then fell into some disuse; the final models built under the Ancien Régime were those of Saint-Omer (1758), and the fort Saint-Philippe aux Baléares (1759).

In 1774, the collection was nearly destroyed when its Louvre gallery was rededicated to paintings, but was in 1777, moved to the Hôtel des Invalides where it remains to this day.

Under Napoleon, a new set of models was built, including Luxembourg (1802), La Spezia (1811), Brest (1811), and Cherbourg (1811–1813).

At present, the museum displays 28 plans-reliefs of fortifications along the English Channel, the Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, and the Pyrenees.