HOME Travel Guide Common Sense Travel
decorative font style

Sans-Souci Palace: Haiti's Ruined Rival to Versailles by King Henry Christophe

Constructed as a bold rival to France's Versailles, King Henry Christophe's Sans-Souci Palace has lain in ruins since the devastating 1842 earthquake. Decades of neglect have created an elegantly crumbling landmark. Completed in 1813, it was more than a residence—it served as the administrative capital of Christophe's kingdom, housing a hospital, school, printing press, and army barracks.

A grand staircase, once flanked by bronze lions, leads to the palace entrance. Inside, visitors pass through the throne room, banquet halls, and private apartments. Bare brick walls now stand where rich tapestries and paintings once displayed Haiti's transformation from slavery to cultural sophistication. The three-story palace featured large French picture windows. From his quarters, Christophe corresponded with Russia's Czar and abolitionist William Wilberforce.

Behind the palace are the remnants of the King's and Queen's ornamental gardens, including a swimming pool. Nearby lie the hospital ruins, with the old barracks—home to the Royal Corps of freed slaves from Dahomey—opposite.

A roughly paved road from the Baby Doc era climbs from the site up the mountain to the Citadelle.

Tourist Attraction
  • Carrying On: Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ Polar Expedition and Legacy

    Everyone has heard of Sir Ranulph Fiennes. He is, after all, the perfect epitome of an explorer and completely mad-capped Englishman. His name is as ubiquitously mentioned down the pub as it is seen on the bookcases of the adventure section in your local library. Leader of the only team ever to to fully circumnavigate the world on its polar axis and the first man to completely cross the Antarctic continent unsupported, Ran is also one of UK’s top celebrity fundraisers, with an expressed aim o

  • -

    The history around this Magical Town El Rosario –located to 65 kilometers from Mazatlán, in the Sinaloa State– starts with a legend. It was the year of 1655 and the foreman Bonifacio Rojas lost a cow that he found later at the Santiago knoll. By the time he found it, it was already late at night and Rojas had to choose a place to make a bonfire to wait for the dawn. However, the next day Bonifacio Rojas was shocked when he saw that under the ashes there was melted silver. For not losing the

  • Amguid Crater: Unveiling the Sahara’s Ancient Impact Site

    In a remote region of the Sahara Desert, an impact crater was punched into the land less than 100,000 years ago. Measuring some 500 meters (1,640 feet) wide and about 70 meters (230 feet) deep, the Amguid Crater is located in southwestern Algeria. On satellite imagery, the white spot of the flat, sandy crater floor is clearly visible; the residue formed by millennia of sporadic rain running into the bowl and evaporating. The first known record of the Amguid crate