guadeloupe highlights paRadise deFiNed Here’s what you can’t miss on your visit:
to do Explore the rainforest in Basse-Terre. In Grande-Terre, laze on white-sand beaches and then have a delicious meal at one of the many local restaurants.
Seafood prepared with a Creole influence is a mainstay of this island nation.
to Bu BuY Crafts created by local artisans.
to eNJoY The rustic charms of Guadeloupe’s villages.
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Les Saintes, “The Paradise Islands”
La Désirade, “Infinite Nature”
Terre-de-Bas offers a beautiful beach at Grande-Anse, and the tiny village of Petite-Anse is worth getting to know better! Less busy than its sister island, it offers its temporary guests peace and quiet, a relaxed pace of life and the hospitality of its inhabitants.
The island of La Désirade has been desired by so many in its history! From a distance, its shape looks like the keel of an upturned boat. Life on La Désirade is timeless. Peace and simplicity characterize this tabular rock that is quite different from all of the others in the archipelago. In fact, nothing can disturb the tranquil atmosphere that reigns on the island, nor affect the authentic character and kind welcome of its inhabitants, mainly descendants of people from Brittany, Normandy and Poitou. Seven miles long (11 km) and just over a mile wide (2 km), it has magnificent beaches of white sand and is sheltered by long coral reefs, a delight for swimmers and divers. Only the south coast is inhabited. A single, straight road links Grande-Anse—the main market town—to the different communities: Les Galets, Le Souffleur and Baie-Mahault. La Désirade. Just like the wild islands that are linked to Petite-Terre, there is an astonishing variety of plant life. You will also find some beautiful and fascinating colonies of animals on the verge of extinction: iguanas, agoutis, tropicbirds, etc. Gradually, the island is beginning to modernize and is gearing up for an appropriate scale of tourist development: beaches and organized hiking trails, gîte accommodations and pleasant restaurants.
Life rolls along quietly here. Memories of the turbulent past of the archipelago and the bloody naval battle with the English and French fleets facing each other off the coastline remain consigned to the history books. Terre-de-Haut is renowned for its gorgeous bay with clear, turquoise waters; its spectacular sugarloaf mountain; and its charming village with quiet roads lined with cute cottages. The inhabitants of Breton and Norman descent have a long tradition of fishing, which they do in small, open boats called saintoises. You can visit the Napoleon Fort, with its museum and surprising exotic garden. The island’s restaurants are stocked with fresh produce on a daily basis and offer tasty tropical cuisine.
“Marie-Galante, So True!”
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to eat
Bellevue distillery, located in the town of Le Moule, the former colonial capital. The magnificent shaded beaches of white sand along its coastline provide brilliant sunbathing places if you want to laze about. Calm lagoons of turquoise sea, as well as wave sports, are a joy for surfers and windsurfers. Lots of restaurants and hotels will guarantee you a taste of the best Creole cuisine, balmy Guadeloupian nights and the range of nighttime activities, like casinos, discos and revues. Grande-Terre offers a wide range of choices to suit every visitor with its natural beauty spots, such as Pointe des Châteaux; the cliffs of la Grande Vigie; the Grands Fonds; the sugarcane landscapes of Port-Louis; and Pointe-à-Pitre, the economic capital, with its historical monuments, museums and spice and flower markets with intoxicating smells.
Located 27 miles (43 km) from Pointe-à-Pitre, the island of Marie-Galante (Aïchi en Caraïbes) covers an area of 61 square miles (158 km²). This round island, hence the nickname “the big pancake,” with its quiet roads and varied plant life, is the sugar cane island par excellence. Known as the island of a hundred mills, it had already gained a reputation for its rum by the 18th century. Vast sugarcane fields still cover most of the land today. On the roads, you will meet authentic ox-drawn carts, the means of transport used by farmers. They say it’s home to the best rums in the world, and Marie-Galante jealously guards the secrets of its culinary specialties on the menus of its colorful restaurants. Its beaches of white sand are some of the most beautiful to be found in the Caribbean. With its hospitality and the legendary warmth of its inhabitants, Marie-Galante is authenticity itself in the Guadeloupean archipelago.
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