This Long Island Town Is Where The Little Prince Was Born

Since Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince was published in 1943, it’s become a global classic, selling almost two million copies in some 250 languages each year. Readers may be surprised to hear that this tale of a space-traveling royal is, ultimately, a New York story.

Although Saint-Exupéry had a glamorous background as a writer and aviator in France, his most famous work wasn’t penned in Paris, but in Northport, Long Island. In 1940, after the Germans occupied France, Saint-Exupéry came to New York in search of calm, which he found, along with literary inspiration, on Northport’s Beven Road. Here, at his Long Island home and in Manhattan, an early draft of a book entitled Le Petit Prince landed on Earth.

The Bevin House, one of the locations where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote The Little Prince

In this manuscript, the connection between Le Petit Prince and Long Island were much more apparent. Now-deleted sections depicted several episodes on Earth and featured references to Long Island specifically, including the allusion: “It’s very tiny, but you see it.” Another passage documents Saint-Exupéry’s musings that if everyone on Earth gathered together for a meeting, they could fit onto Long Island.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.