Napoleonic Museum
Classified as a historic monument in 1925, the house in which Napoleon surrendered to the English was bought by Baron Napoleon Gourgaud (1891-1944), the grandson of General Gaspard Gourgaud, who was there when Napoleon left the Île d'Aix.
Each of the ten rooms in the house, now a museum, is devoted to one particular theme, while seeking, as far as possible, to trace the life of the Emperor and his entourage. There are rooms devoted to the history of the Île d'Aix, to the Gourgaud family and to the legend of Napoleon whose prolific exploits influenced the whole of the 19th century.
The African Museum
Installed in 1933 in former single-storey fishermen’s houses, the African Museum was also created by Baron Napoleon Gourgaud.
He was a great hunter, who organised, along with his friend Robert Rychner, three major expeditions to Africa in 1913-1914, 1928 and 1930-1931. During these hunts, he killed many animals that were subsequently stuffed by the most famous taxidermist of the time, Rowland Ward of London. He then wanted to display them in a setting that recalled their natural habitat, and this gave rise to the African Museum.
