Plymouth, is one of Europe’s most vibrant waterfront cities, with so much to explore. There’s something for every traveller to experience in this historic city, however long you have to stay around.

But there’s also hundreds of years of history to uncover, from Napoleon’s time imprisoned on HMS Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound to Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada and the Mayflower sailing in 1620, Plymouth has an array of history to be discovered.

Napoleon 200 at The Box

The Box is Plymouth's award-winning museum, art gallery and archive. Nine permanent galleries showcase the city’s incredible collections and include 14 monumental ships’ figureheads, thousands of natural history specimens, a full-size woolly mammoth replica, paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture and ceramics, objects, film and photography, documents, maps and plans.

Visitors to The Box can see a portrait of Napoleon in its ‘Port of Plymouth’ gallery.

The portrait was painted by John Harris the Younger (1791-1873), an English artist who specialised in pen and ink facsimile as well as miniature portraits, copies of printed landscapes and woodcuts. It shows Napoleon posing in all his finery, despite being a prisoner on board HMS Bellerophon in Plymouth Sound at the time: “Buonaparte is a fine-looking man……….Roman nose, good mouth and chin……….big belly, arms stout……….and shews a good leg. He wears a cocked hat……….like our three cornered ones……….white waistcoat and breeches and white silk stockings, thin shoes and buckles.” (Ephraim Graebke, Assistant Surgeon, on HMS Bellerophon)

Some highly detailed bone models made by prisoners of war from the Napoleonic era can also be seen in the gallery. The models were created with handmade tools as well as a great deal of skill and patience and are detailed examples of high quality craftsmanship.

The Box is open from 10am-5pm Tuesday to Sunday and selected bank holidays. Admission to its galleries, including ‘Port of Plymouth’ is free and there’s no need to book.

Visit The Box Plymouth for more information and to book.

Napoleon Walking Tour with Chrissie Le Marchant – Blue Badge Guide

After years of facing the enemy across the channel, 200 years of entente cordial, Billy Ruffian and the Bogeyman of Europe!

Join Chrissie on this 90 minute walking tour meeting at The Box and discover the intrigue of how Napoleon never came ashore in Plymouth before being sent into exile on the island of St Helena... I promise not to scare the children.

£10 per person up to groups of 6. To book please email Chrissie Le Marchant. 

Plymouth Boat Trips – 1 hour cruise

A one hour harbour cruise departs daily from The Barbican Landing Stage, adjacent to the Mayflower Steps, Plymouth.
On departing the Mayflower Steps, your skipper will provide an informative commentary, as we sail across the spectacular Plymouth Sound, flanked by the beautiful Devon and Cornish coasts and you will hear references on Napoleons stay in Plymouth imprisoned on Plymouth Sound. 

You will see the great Plymouth breakwater which was constructed during 1812 and built to keep Napoleon out.

Known as the ‘National undertaking’ it has stood the test of time and is an exemplar of construction from its day. More information on the project can be seen in ‘the Box’ in the ‘Port of Plymouth’ gallery.

You will also pass Plymouth Hoe, the famous Drakes Island, heading for the river Tamar and the Royal Naval Dockyard, where the mighty warships and nuclear submarines await!

To book please visit Plymouth Boat Trips

Napoleon Commemorative Stone

This commemoration stone is two pieces of Dartmoor Granite and a piece of Volcanic rock from St Helena. It commemorates 200 years of peace between Britain and France and was unveiled in 2015. Sponsored by Monsieur Alain Sibril then French Consul, Plymouth City Council the French Navy and Brittany Ferries, the stone is located overlooking Plymouth Sound where Napoleon was detained on HMS Bellerophon for 9 days in 1815. It bears the inscription ‘May our hearts be open to friendship and our arms reach across the sea to unite our two nations’ – written by Mrs Mrs Melisande Fitzsimons, a French poet living in Plymouth.

Royal William Yard

Royal William Yard is an award-winning Grade I listed ex-naval victualling yard. Superbly located between the River Tamar and Plymouth Sound, Royal William Yard provides breath-taking views and a great place to live or base your business.  It boasts an array of both local and more widely known eating and drinking experiences.

Take a stroll along the famous South West Coast Path and descend the stunning steps from Devils Point into There is an on-site marina offering berthing and a regular ferry service as well as stand up paddle boarding which launches from Firestone Arches. Royal William Yard is steeped in history.

There is a different story to be told around every corner you turn and in every building you see.
Why not take one of our regular history tours to learn more about its fascinating history. Keep an eye out in the events section for when the next tours are happening. See History Tours for more information.

The Mayflower Museum 

The Mayflower Museum explores the Mayflower story in new ways. It begins with Wampanoag history and culture thanks to an on-going partnership with members of the Native American tribal nation. Their insights are shared alongside the stories of earlier English voyages to America, which shaped histories and legacies on both sides of the Atlantic. The exhibition considers the impact of English colonisation on indigenous communities – then and now. It also reflects on commemorations through time, and England’s changing, and enduring, relationship with America.           

To book please visit Mayflower Museum                    

Elizabethan House 

Built in the late 1500s when Plymouth was a thriving port, the Elizabethan House is a rare, surviving example of its time. The date of the house’s first known recorded owner is 1631, and the last recorded owner relinquished their deeds in 1926. The house was then saved from demolition and opened in 1930 as a visitor attraction.

A home to merchants, businessmen, fishermen, washerwomen and dressmakers, throughout the last four centuries the house - with its timber frame, bare wooden floors, oak beams, spiral staircase and earth plaster walls - has stood almost unaltered, while the fortunes of those living and working around the Barbican have risen and fallen.

Group tours available – max 15 people. 45 minute tours. To book please visit The Box Plymouth website. 

Looking to stay a little longer – Dartmoor/Princetown

Britain’s Ocean City is the perfect base to explore the breath-taking beauty of the south west. Only a few miles from the city is Dartmoor, one of the finest and largest National parks in Britain and the largest great wilderness in Southern England. 

The landscape is unique with its high heather covered moors, ancient standing stones, hut circles and stone clapper bridges. You can walk or cycle whilst enjoying this extraordinary area at its best. 

Princetown is one of the highest villages on Dartmoor and home to Dartmoor Prison, built during the Napoleonic Wars. The prison is the most iconic and famous part of Princetown; the jail is still an important part of the country’s prison service, though today visitors can visit the prison museum and learn more about it.

Here you will also find The French Prisoner of War Cemetery, H M Prison Dartmoor, a landscaped burial ground created in 1866-8 to commemorate the French PoWs who lost their lives at Dartmoor Prison during the Napoleonic Wars of 1806- 16.

Dartmoor Prison

Visit and learn about ‘life inside’ one of the world’s most famous and notorious jails. Our museum attracts more
than 35,000 visitors every year from all over the world. 

Some of the artefacts and documents on display will surprise you but will certainly enable you to form an opinion about prison life. Vividly portrayed are more than 200 years of this prison’s turbulent history ranging from the beginning, when Dartmoor was a Prisoner of War Depot for French and American prisoners of war, to the later convict era through to today.

Find out more here.
 

For full itinerary click here- Napoleon Itinerary