t The striped facade of Bibliothèque Schoelcher in Fort-de-France
g Martinique g Contents
t The striped facade of Bibliothèque Schoelcher in Fort-de-France
The capital of Martinique is a lively city with French flair, wrapped in tropical colors. Next to the harbor in Baie des Flamands is the Place de la Savane, full of palm trees and flowers and an ideal starting point for a walking tour.
Fort Saint-Louis occupies a peninsula on the east side of Place de la Savane. The fortress was built in 1638 during the rule of Louis XIII. Part of the fort is still used by the military, and guided tours (in French and English) are available from La Savanne tourist info kiosk across the street. East of Fort Saint-Louis is Fort Desaix (built 1768–1771), now the military headquarters.
On the west side of the park, the Musée d’Archéologie et de Préhistoire is set up in a historic building with well-organized relics and exhibits of the island’s pre-Columbian inhabitants and its early European colonists. Among the most impressive artifacts are the ceramics and stone tools used in pre-Columbian times. The museum also has an interesting display of clay figureheads used by the Arawaks for decoration.
Just a short distance from here is the Cathédrale Saint-Louis. Built in the late 1800s on the site of six earlier churches and renovated in 1978, it is the masterpiece of Henri Picq, a renowned French architect. The church has a 187-ft (57-m) steeple and stunning stained-glass windows. The town’s largest market is located just north of the cathedral on Rue Antoine Siger. Each morning farmers lay out their produce under the building’s metal roof as the city wakes up. Products on offer include spices, vanilla, peppers, flavored rums, and an array of fresh produce.
The most outstanding building in Fort-de-France, also designed by Picq, is the Bibliothèque Schoelcher, which pays homage to the French abolitionist writer Victor Schoelcher. The domed library houses more than 130,000 books, many of which were donated by Schoelcher himself. The collection ranges from old texts to crime novels.
North of La Savane is Musée Régional d’Histoire et d’Ethnographie. Housed in a Neo-Classical villa, the museum is decorated with mahogany furniture and fine lattice-work and is an interesting recreation of a 19th century bourgeois home.
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⌂ 9 Rue de la Liberté § 596 715 705 # 9am–4pm daily
⌂ Cnr of Rue Victor Schoelcher and Rue Antoine Siger § 596 735 978 # 6:15–10:30am & 2:30–5:30pm daily
⌂ 1 Rue de la Liberté § 596 556 830 # 1–5:30 pm Mon, 8:30am–5:30pm Tue–Thu (to 5pm Fri), 8:30am–noon Sat
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⌂ 10 Boulevard Général de Gaulle § 596 728 187 # 8:30am–5pm Mon, Wed–Fri, 2–5pm Tue, 8:30am–12:30pm Sat
Empress Joséphine was born as Marie-Joseph-Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie on the Trois-Îlets plantation in June 1763. In 1779, she accompanied her father to France and married a wealthy landowner. Her husband was guillotined during the Reign of Terror in 1794, and Joséphine married Napoléon Bonaparte, then just an army general, in 1796. She was crowned empress in 1804, and died in 1814.
t Slave memorial by Laurent Valère, near Le Diamant, Anse Cafard
Martinique’s prime tourist district lies just across the water from the capital. Frequent ferries connect Fort-de-France to the marina at Pointe du Bout, on the north shore of a curved peninsula.
In Trois-Îlets, L’Église Notre Dame de la Bonne Délivrance (Our Lady of Good Deliverance) dominates the square. This church was where the future Empress Josephine, Napoléon’s wife, was baptized in 1763. Now designated a historic monument, the lovely white church is open to visitors who wish to see the baptismal font. Musée de la Pagerie, in nearby La Pagerie, has mementos of the empress in the old kitchen block of her former home.
On the outskirts of Trois-Ilets is Le Village de la Poterie, home to potters and other craftspeople who sell their wares here. East of the village lies La Savane des Esclaves, which offers insight into the history of slavery on Martinique. It features a museum, a reconstructed slave settlement from the 19th century, and a medicinal garden. Farther west is La Maison de la Canne, part of an 18th-century plantation that includes the old Vatable rum distillery.
Heading south, the drive to the town of Le Diamant is one of the most picturesque areas on Martinique. Le Diamant is a charming hamlet of pretty houses with colorful facades. It is also the starting point of the 3-hour hike to Morne Larcher, which is the island’s highest point. In 1804, during the Napoleonic wars, the British Navy fortified it with cannons, and registered it as the warship HMS Diamond Rock. From this unsinkable ship, the British blockaded Martinique for 17 months, before the French floated barrels of rum to the rock, got the sailors drunk, and captured the stronghold.
⌂ Place Centrale de la Commune, Trois-Îlets # 9:15–11:45am daily
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⌂ La Pagerie, D7 § 596 683 834 # 9am–4:30pm Tue–Fri, 9:30am–2:30pm Sat ¢ Sun & public hols
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⌂ Quartier La Ferme # Times vary, check website ∑ lasavanedesesclaves.fr
EXPERIENCE Martinique
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Drink La Zinc du Nord Caraïbes Evenings at this unpretentious and friendly bar can get loud thanksto the live music and karaoke. ⌂ 145 Rue Bouille, Saint-Pierre § 596 896 029 ¢ Mon Wahoo Café Set on the beach with chairs in the sand, this is the perfect spot for sundowners. ⌂ Plage de Grande Anse § 596 746 995 Garage Popular Always lively, with Creole-style snacks, “car part decor,” and plenty of cocktails and beer. ⌂ 121 Rue Lamartine, Fort-de-France § 059 679 8676 ¢ Sun |
EXPERIENCE Martinique
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EAT Restaurant 1643 Located in one of the oldest Creole houses on the island, this upscale eatery offers an ever-changing menu of meat and seafood éntrees, superbly flavored with French herbs. ⌂ Anse Latouche, Le Carbet ¢ Mon & Wed, Sun dinner ∑ restaurant1643.com \\\ Restaurant L’Hibiscus A dinner-only restaurant, known for its fusion of Creole and French cuisine. Expect beautifully-presented main courses and deliciously gooey desserts to linger over on the sea-facing terrace. ⌂ 23 Lotissement Panoramique, Trois-Rivières, Sainte-Luce § 596 625 569 ¢ Tue, Wed & Sun \\\ Pura Vida Classic French dishes are given a Caribbean twist at this popular establishment. It’s particularly strong on seafood – try the coconut conch stew. The attractive terrace with lounge sofas is the perfect place to sip a couple of cocktails after your meal. ⌂ Villa B14, Gros Raisin, Sainte-Luce ¢ Mon ∑ restaurantpuravida.fr \\\ |
t Visitors exploring the intriguing Musée du Rhum in Sainte-Marie
The town of Sainte-Marie, an officially designated Ville Fleurs (Flower Town), is the largest urban area on the Atlantic side of the island, and Martinique’s fourth-largest city. Most of the daily activity takes place along the pretty waterfront, which faces Îlet de Sainte-Marie, a scrap of land 1,320 ft (400 m) offshore. This is accessible by foot via a tombolo (sandbar) when the tide is low, usually from January through April. The island’s hiking club organizes guided walks along the tombolo when sea and weather conditions permit. The sandbar is also a popular destination for cyclists and ATV riders. While the rare geological formation is worth seeing, and a highlight of the town, strong ocean currents usually make swimming dangerous in the coves carved into the sediment strip, and hiking on the Îlet can be extremely arduous.
The Musée du Rhum is located on the edge of town at Distillerie Saint-James. Set in a colonial house on the former Sainte-Marie Sugar Plantation, the museum holds a fine collection of antique machinery, photographs, documents, and a tasting bar.
The Habitation Fond Saint-Jacques, 1 mile (1.5 km) north of town, is one of the best preserved estates on Martinique. Self-guided tours include a visit to the renovated chapel, warehouses, kitchen, and ruins of other buildings where Père Jean-Baptiste Labat developed a rum still and oversaw the profitable production of the liquor by Dominican priests in the late 1600s.
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⌂ Distillerie Saint-James, Le Bourg-Sainte-Marie § 596 693 002 # 9am–5pm Mon–Sat
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⌂ 194 Rue du Pavé, 97230 # 10am–4pm Mon–Fri ∑ domainedefondsaintjacques.com
t The Réserve Naturelle de la Caravelle, a protected area on the picturesque peninsula
Jutting into the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of Martinique, Caravelle Peninsula, a sheer strip of steep cliffs descending to picturesque beaches, looks almost like an independent islet. The tip of this ragged peninsula is protected within the Réserve Naturelle de la Caravelle, which is intersected by several hiking trails. The lighthouse here is the island’s oldest working one and has great views over Tartane, a popular beachfront village.
The ruins of Château Dubuc lie within the reserve and visitors can explore its grounds and stone relics. Built in about 1770 by the legendary Dubuc de Rivery family, the estate, in the guise of a sugar plantation, was allegedly used for smuggling operations and acquired great wealth from selling slaves and valuables from looted ships.
§ 596 644 259
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⌂ Caravelle Peninsula § 0596 580 900 # 9am–4:30pm daily
The coast at the base of Mont Pelée was the first area of the island to be settled during the 17th century, and the villages of Le Prêcheur and Saint-Pierre became the center of Martinique’s thriving sugar and cocoa industries.
Once home to an elite society that included French aristocrats, Le Prêcheur is now a simple fishing village. Just south of town, the coastal road passes steep cliffs known as Tombeau des Caraïbes, where, according to legend, a band of native Kalinagos jumped to their death to avoid being captured or defeated by French settlers in the 1600s.
Distillerie Neisson is one of the last producers to grow its own sugarcane, and connoisseurs claim the rum made from this cane is one of the best in the world.
⌂ Domaine Thieubert # 8am–5pm Mon–Fri, 8:30am–noon Sat, 9am–noon Sun ∑ neisson.fr