Lapérouse House

Exploring Albi’s heritage isn’t just about the sights; it’s also about the people that made them this special. Our tour brings their stories to life. Take this house, for example. It might not look like much, but it belonged to a local legend – Jean-François de Galaup, Count of La Pérouse. This noble family name belies the striking story of a young sailor who grew to become a great French navigator and explorer. His love for the sea started young, at just 15, when he enrolled in the Naval Academy in Brest. From there, adventure followed him everywhere. Lapérouse fought many battles, mostly against the English, and proved himself a skilled sailor. That’s how he came to befriend other important figures of the time, like Henri-Louis d’Arsac, the so-called Chevalier de Ternay. Together, they spent five years on the island of Mauritius from 1772 to 1777. During his time there, he carried out various missions, made two trips to the Indies, and, above all, met the love of his life, Éléonore Broudou, daughter of the head of the Port-Louis armaments office. Despite his parents’ disapproval, he secretly married her on June 17, 1783. The house you see here is actually the one Lapérouse bought for them to live in together. But with his seafaring ways, it was mostly his wife who enjoyed it. This three-story building with its inner courtyard is a private mansion to this day, so, unfortunately, it’s not open to visitors. There is, however, a plaque here commemorating its famous former owner, who was born in Gô, a commune in Albi, and vanished mysteriously in Vanikoro, one of the Solomon Islands.