Description
In partnership with the magazine Point de Vue
PONANT is organising an exceptional 16-day cruise to commemorate the bicentenary of the death of Napoleon Bonaparte on 5 May 1821.
You will board Le Lyrial in Namibia then chart a course towards the island of Saint Helena to arrive on the day of the official ceremony, which will be held on 5 May 2021. Although this British territory, the site of his last exile, houses his tomb, it remains above all the place where Napoleon dictated his memoirs and sealed his legend. Offering an intimate and moving testimony of his last moments on the island, the Longwood Residence and the Emperor’s furniture have been preciously maintained and preserved by the French authorities and the Fondation Napoléon. During your visit, you will travel through history in a luxuriant and bucolic setting, far from the sombre image of the island.
You will then call at Ascension Island, some 1,000 km off the coast of Saint Helena. On this desert island, the British created a garrison to counter any hope of escape by the Emperor. Today the island is a veritable sanctuary for birds, marine mammals and green turtles.
You will then sail north along the maritime route taken in 1815 by the Northumberland, the ship that escorted Napoleon to Saint Helena and will enjoy a few days at sea before reaching Dakar, the lively capital of Senegal, which will be your port of disembarkation.