Longwood House

Longwood House, set on a windswept plateau in the interior of St Helena, is the island's most famous historic site, the residence where the exiled French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte spent the last six years of his life and died in 1821, having been sent to this remote Atlantic rock after his final defeat. Carefully preserved as a museum by France, which owns the property, the house evokes his melancholy exile through its period rooms, furnishings and personal effects, including the very room in which he died. Surrounded by gardens he himself helped design, and near the empty tomb where he was first buried, Longwood offers a moving and atmospheric window onto the final chapter of one of history's most extraordinary lives.

History

Longwood was an East India Company farm, later the Deputy-Governor's country residence, and was converted for Napoleon, who lived here from 10 December 1815 until his death on 5 May 1821. The French government bought it in 1858, with the Valley of the Tomb, for £7,100, and it is now a museum (Wikipedia, Longwood House).

What to look for

• The house - the preserved rooms of Napoleon's exile.
• The death room - the very room where the Emperor died.
• The personal effects - the furnishings and belongings.
• The gardens and tomb - the grounds and the original empty tomb.

When to go

Year-round; St Helena's mild climate makes Longwood accessible in any season, though the interior plateau can be cooler and mistier than the coast. Allow time to absorb the house, its gardens and the nearby tomb fully on a reflective visit.

What to expect

Longwood is a modest country house whose power lies in its history and atmosphere rather than grandeur, and reaching remote St Helena at all is a considerable journey.

Nearby

Jamestown, Napoleon's tomb and the green interior of St Helena lie nearby.

Key facts