You’re looking for a three-story, weathered stucco building on the corner with deep green shutters, shallow iron balconies, and a prominent cupola rising from the roof-right where Chartres Street gets lively.
Welcome to the legendary Napoleon House, a place where history swirls around like the aroma of good gumbo. Flash back to 1814: Nicolas Girod, mayor of New Orleans, expanded his home with a plot that was half madcap adventure, half mystery-he and his friends cooked up a plan to rescue Napoleon Bonaparte from exile and settle him right here in the French Quarter. Imagine the suspense: candles flickering, secret rendezvous, and all the city’s best gossip focused on this very spot. But just as the welcome party was getting started, word arrived that Napoleon had died, and the dream fizzled faster than a glass of Pimm’s Cup on a summer day. Eventually, the house hosted a grocery, then blossomed into a restaurant in 1914. Today, the Napoleon House is legend for its old-world atmosphere, classical music, and must-try muffulettas. Even the upper floors-now apartments-hold onto bits of their grand past. If you catch a breeze, maybe you're just getting a whiff of adventure that never quite left the corner of Chartres and St. Louis.
