Adventurers! Let’s Check Out How Promising is the Sporty Island of Martinique

If you love beachside relaxing, delicious food, and thrilling hiking or diving; Martinique is just the ideal place. This is the best way I can introduce the famous holiday destination where the Gallic culture and Caribbean rituals walk together. The hiking excitement and birds-watching fun are met by the slopes of the still active volcano, Mount Pelee.

The long beaches are successful in pulling the visitors for its oodles of diving in the south. Keeping beside the north full of mountains, rest of the region is quite accessible easily.

Martinique Tourist Attractions

Fort-de-France

This is the island’s capital and the largest town in the French West Indies.

• Stroll on its narrow, winding streets dotted with a mixture of offices, basement colorful shops, good restaurants, collapsing 20th century buildings, and iron balconies.
• Next, we visited the park of La Savane in the middle of the town wherein a statue marks the Napoleon’s Empress Josephine who is from La Pagerie, Martinique.
• Off the park, we also looked at the Bibliotheque Schoelcher (Schoelcher Library) that is a Romanesque-Byzantine treasure standing since 100 years named for Victor Schoelcher, the French abolitionist who played an important role in bringing an end to slavery on the island in 1848 A.D.
• Then, the Musee Departemental houses the archaeological findings mostly of the Arawak and Carib Indian prehistory.
• We, then, headed towards an appealing Caribbean Arts Center.
• The harbor front environs and the Pitons du Carbet provide a mesmerizing view if you are in ferry.

• You can visit the birthplace of Josephine, Les Trois-Ilets, situated across the bay from the city.

St Pierre

Once known as the ‘Pearl of the Caribbean’ or ‘Paris of the West Indies’, this city was as beautiful and noteworthy and now the second city on the island. We reached here within an hour after driving from Fort-de-France. Now, it is in ruins due to the eruption of the 1430 m volcanic mountain, Montagne Pelee, in the north in 1902 that devastated the entire city along with its entire population of 30,000. The mysterious fact is that only a prisoner in an underground cell, Auguste Ciparis, did not die who was then pardoned. The ruins are now a famous attraction.

The Musée Volcanologique offers educational displays, photographs, and documents that will make you imagine the terror and environs of the volcanic eruption. Do check out for the ancient stone stairways and bridges that can be still seen and the ruins of a primary theater. Other historic monuments are still in the process of restoration.

The beach is amazing with its grey sands where you can visit the wrecks of the ships that were destroyed in the eruption. Dive to see these or catch a special submarine with glass windows to view these historic wrecks and the colorful fishes swimming around them.

Le Carbet

This is one of the must see halt on the route from Fort-de-France to St. Pierre in the north. Nearby this is the rebuilt area of Leyritz where Columbus landed in 1502 A.D. on his fourth expedition. You will see this place with many tourists around. This is also the place where the famous Gauguin resided and painted in 1887 A.D. and now all his works and paintings are exhibited in the Center d’Art Paul Gauguin in Le Carbet. All worth a visit!

The next attraction in our list was the Zoo du Carbet that remains open everyday at Le Coin in Carbet. Recommended for both adults and kids, it is entirely renovated to house the Caribbean, Amazon, and African animals. Lastly, we explored the nearby Valley of the Butterflies made at the Carbet’s Botanical Garden and located in the remnants of the 17th century Martinique hamlets. If visiting all this makes you hungry, eat at the good refreshment stand down.

Le Precheur

This is the last village on the northern Caribbean where we soaked ourselves in volcanic hot springs and saw the Tomb of the Carib Indians.

Ajoupa Bouillon

This is an enthralling flower-filled town that holds a trail called Les Ombrages worth trekking. Do not miss the captivating Gorges de la Falaise, the close by small canyons beside the Falaise River.

Botanical Gardens

Known as the ‘Isle of Flowers’, Martinique offers the enchanting Jardin de Balata on the Route de La Trace in north of Fort-de-France.

South Tour

• Here, Le Marin offered a well-maintained marina and an old Jesuit-style church belonging to 1766 A.D. Pointe du Bout is the major resort region of the nation. At both Le Marin and Pointe du Bout, do not miss the thrilling experience of exploring the island’s underwater world through a semi-submersible craft. This is an unusual water excursion that make you live in underwater until one hour.
• St Anne, Le Diamant, and Les Anses d’Arlets are the destinations further that are filled with a few but ideal bathing beaches of the island. The bays, peninsulas, and white sand beaches around St Anne are a must to explore. Here, the Plage des Salines and Cap Chevalier are designated as two of the most attractive on the Caribbean.
• Then, we saw the offshore H.M.S. Diamond Rock that is a kind of Caribbean Gibraltar at 183 m (600 ft) above the seal level located at 4 km off Le Diamant. British designated this rock as a man-of-war at the time of the Napoleonic wars.
• We then reached Trois Ilets wherein nearby the Empress Josephine’s birthplace, La Pagerie, is also worth visiting. A museum exhibits will make you to recall her. Further ahead close by is the Parc des Floralies, which is a calm, beautiful botanical park.

Best Time to Visit Martinique

December to May

Martinique Accommodations

• Hotel Diamant Les at €50 – €146
• Hotel La Caravelle at $63 – $87
• Karibea Squash at $103 – $206
• Karibea Corail Residence at $73 – $74
• Karibea Baie du Galion Resort at €87 – €221