Welcoming Napoleon to the South

Email

Print

share/save

rss

Tallahassee Hosts Only Southeast Stop of the New Exhibit

TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Jan. 11 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of the only Southeast stop of the new exhibit, Napoleon: An Intimate Portrait, Tallahassee welcomes the emperor with gracious southern hospitality. The complimentary exhibit, showcasing more than 250 rare personal possessions from his famous cocked military hat and the ceremonial sword used at his coronation to a lock of Empress Josephine's hair, comes to the Museum of Florida History Feb. 6 through April 30, 2006, directly after its debut in Washington, D.C.

Tallahassee has a past connection to Napoleon and France. Napoleon's nephew, Achille Murat, was one of the area's early prominent residents in 1825. His widow, Catherine Murat, who was also the great-grandniece of George Washington, lived her final years in Bellevue -- one of the oldest houses in Tallahassee open to the public. And in the 1830s, French General Marquis de Lafayette sent settlers who established the community of Tallahassee still known as Frenchtown.

Honoring the exhibit and Tallahassee's rich history, other museums and cultural entities have joined together to offer additional events such as tours of Bellevue and displayed portraits of Napoleon Bonaparte and his contemporaries at the Tallahassee Museum of History & Natural Science and the Women of the Napoleonic Era drawing room at the Mary Brogan Museum of Art and Science showing Paris designer-inspired fashions.

See the Napoleon treasured relics while staying in "intimate" accommodations including:

Governors Inn - Quaint downtown inn offers "Grand Escape" package, $139 per night, featuring in-room French champagne upon arrival, $30 gift certificate for dinner for two and a French pastry breakfast.

Wakulla Springs Lodge - Developed in 1937 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, this 27-room lodge provides a Napoleon "Getaway Special," $119 per night, with dinner for two and a river cruise. Try the signature French toast for breakfast.

Inn at Park Avenue - Renovated Victorian bed and breakfast, built in 1838, boasts elegant antique beds, hardwood floors and complimentary nightly cocktails toasting the Emperor, $120 per night.

To experience the extraordinary Napoleon exhibition, Tallahassee's past and charming lodging options, call the Tallahassee Area Convention and Visitors Bureau at (800) 628-2866 or visit http://www.seetallahassee.com/ .

Related Articles