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The Galerie, a great room for the guests, in the Maison Bonaparte in Ajaccio, ancestral home of the Bonaparte family and the birthplace of Napoleon.

© Naeblys/Shutterstock

Maison Bonaparte

Ajaccio


Unremarkable from the outside, the old-town house where Napoléon was born and spent his first nine years was ransacked by Corsican nationalists in 1793, requisitioned by English troops from 1794 to 1796, and eventually rebuilt by his mother. It’s now preserved as a museum, filled with interesting displays and memorabilia despite the loss of its original furnishings and decor. Highlights include a glass medallion containing a lock of Napoléon’s hair.

Everything is explained in a comprehensive audioguide, available to afternoon visitors only.


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