In which year were Napoleon's remains moved to Les Invalides in Paris? Napoleon's remains were moved to Les Invalides in 1840.
Napoleon died in exile on Saint Helena on 5 May 1821 and was buried there in the Valley of the Tomb. Nearly two decades later, King Louis-Philippe I's government obtained British permission to repatriate his remains. The operation became known as the retour des cendres, or “return of the ashes,” although Napoleon was not cremated.
His body was exhumed on 15 October 1840 and transported to France aboard the frigate Belle Poule. A huge state funeral brought the coffin to Paris on 15 December, when it was received at Les Invalides. The ceremony helped the July Monarchy appropriate Napoleon's popularity and fold his legacy into French national identity.
The commonly confused date is 1861. Napoleon's remains initially rested in the Saint-Jérôme Chapel at Les Invalides; the monumental tomb beneath the dome was completed and the remains transferred into its sarcophagus on 2 April 1861.