Great food, beautiful beaches, festivals, history and culture entice visitors to the French-Caribbean island of Martinique
Martinique Promotion Bureau/CMT USA
FLATTER YOUR TASTEBUDS
1. Amour Caché, a traditional pastry made of coconut jam
2. Blanc Mangé
3. Accras
4. Coconut sorbet
5. Ti Punch
6. Planter’s punch
7. La Tivolienne coffee
8. Colombo, a curry dish inherited from India
9. Pain au beurre-chocolat
10. French cheeses
11. Lorraine, the local beer, not the quiche
12. Martinique spring water
13. Didier, the only naturally carbonated spring water of the Caribbean
14. Baguettes, croissants and pains au chocolat (chocolate breads)
15. Freshly squeezed sugar cane juice
16. More than 150 restaurants
17. La Canne à Sucre in Fort-de-France
18. Chez Léger in François
19. La Plantation in Lamentin
20. Chez Gracieuse in Cap Chevalier
21. Le Dubuc restaurant in Trinité
22. Sweets and pastries
23. Freshwater crawfish fricassee at Habitation Céron in Prêcheur or Chez Tante Arlette in Grand’ Rivière
RELAX ON THE BEACH
24. White-sand beaches in the south
25. Silver-blue-sand beaches in the north
26. Perfect beaches to go with children
27. Anses (coves such as Anse Michel, Anse Baleine, Anse Esprit, Anse Céron, Anse Madame, Anse Mitan and Anse à l’Ane)
28. Les Salines in Sainte-Anne
29. Anse Trabaud Beach on the Baie des Anglais
30. Tartane, an authentic fishing village
31. Cap Macré in Sainte-Anne
32. Cap Chevalier in Sainte-Anne
BATHE IN THE RIVERS
33. Grand’ Riviére
34. Coeur Bouliki
35. Alma
36. Absalon waterfall
37. Saut Argis waterfall
38. Gorges de la Falaise
STAY A WHILE
39. Relais Creoles (small inns)
40. Private islets (Ilet Oscar, Ilet Thierry)
41. Plantation homes and manor houses (Leyritz Plantation)
42. Deluxe properties (Accor Hotels, Kalenda, Karibea)
43. Four-star hotels
44. Five-star Cap Est Lagoon Resort and Spa
45. Relais du Silence property
46. Private villas and gites
47. Camping
48. Pointe du Bout in Trois-Ilets
49. Diamant resort area
50. Sainte-Luce resort area
51. Sainte-Anne
52. New upscale Club Med Buccaneer’s Creek Resort
SMELL THE FLOWERS
53. Martinique is known as the “Island of Flowers”
54. Balata botanical gardens
55. Les Ombrages in Ajoupa Bouillon
56. McIntosh Plantation
57. 1000 varieties of ferns (10,000 varieties in the world)
58. 600 different varieties of heliconias
59. Orchids exhibit once a year
60. Butterfly garden in Carbet
GOINGS ON ABOUT THE ISLAND
61. Join revellers for five days of celebrations during Carnival
62. Follow the Yole race around the island
63. Celebrate Saint Pierre on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Mount Pelee volcano eruption
64. Rum Festival in Sainte-Marie
65. Cultural Festival of Fort-de-France
66. June regattas
67. Fort-de-France Half Marathon
68. International Guitar Festival
69. 31 tourist and convention bureaus
70. Projet Caraïbe 2000 (April 29) in Robert, a pyrotechnic concert and show with 1000 musicians and singers
71. Belya village in Saint-Joseph, recreating Martinique in the 1940s
72. Les voies de la tradition (traditional fair) at La Savane in Fort-de-France
73. Culinary week in Sainte-Marie
74. La Pince d’Or crab festival in Grand Riviére
75. International fishing tournament
76. Saturdays at the Atrium cultural centre in Fort-de-France with free shows every Saturday 4-6pm
77. Patron Saint Days celebrated throughout the year in all villages around the island
78. All Saints Day
79. International Amateur Athletic Federation track meet brings the most outstanding athletes in the world
ROUTES OF DISCOVERY
80. Diamant to Anses d’Arlet
81. Rainforest (Route de la Trace)
82. Coeur Bouliki in Saint-Joseph
83. Caribbean coast from Fort-de-France to Prêcheur
84. Atlantic coast
85. Rent a car and explore the island (more than 20 car rental agencies)
86. Botanical route
87. Through towns and villages (the island counts 34 authentic villages)
88. Fruit trail
89. Regional Park, 2/3 of the island
90. Fond Saint-Denis
91. The most beautiful road network of the Caribbean
HISTORICAL SITES AND MONUMENTS
92. Fort Saint-Louis in Fort-de-France
93. Saint-Louis Cathedral in Fort-de-France
94. Churches (Ajoupa Bouillon, Carbet, Case Pilote, Diamant, Ducos, Marin, Sainte-Anne, St Pierre)
95. Saint-Pierre, the little Pompei of the Caribbean, city of art and history
96. Le Carbet, where Christopher Columbus landed
97. Slave memorial at Diamant
98. The fountains of the city of Lamentin (Fontaine à la Nymphe, Fontaine aux Enfants)
99. Schoelcher Library in Fort-de-France
100. Chateau Dubuc in Trinité
101. The Sacré Coeur basilica at Balata
102. Le Tombeau de la Dame Espagnole in Carbet
EXPLORE MUSEUMS
20 Museums to explore, including
103. La Pagerie, birthplace of Empress Josephine
104. Banana Museum in Sainte-Marie
105. Gauguin museum in Carbet
106. Volcanology Museum in Saint-Pierre
107. Fond St Jacques in Sainte-Marie
108. Museum of History and Ethnography in Fort-de-France
109. Ecomuseum in Rivière Pilote
110. Pre-Columbian art museum
111. Doll Museum in the Leyritz Museum
112. Maison de la Canne
113. Centre de Découverte des Sciences de la Terre
SAMPLE THE RUM
More than 12 distilleries offer free tastings, including
114. Depaz in St-Pierre, right under the volcano
115. Clement in François (the estate has more than 300 species of plants and trees)
116. Saint-Etienne in Gros Morne
117. La Mauny in Riviére Pilote
118. Dillon in Fort-de-France
119. Trois-Riviéres in Sainte-Luce
120. Bally in Carbet
121. J M Crassous de Medeuil in Macouba
122. La Favorite in Lamentin
123. Neisson in St Pierre
124. St James in Sainte-Marie with their annual Fete du Rhum Festival in December
BE ACTIVE AND ADVENTUROUS
125. Kayaking in the mangrove at Ducos
126. Kayaking in Sainte-Anne
127. Empress Josephine 18-hole golf course in Trois-Ilets
128. Scuba diving (more than 15 dive operators)
129. Mountain biking
130. Horseback riding in Trois-Ilets
131. Climb up the 4,584-ft Mount Pelée volcano
132. Hike from Grand Riviére to Prêcheur
133. Rando Nuit, a night hike in Grand Riviére
134. Canyoning
135. Swim at “Josephine’s bathtub”
136. Sightseeing by plane or helicopter
137. Deep-sea fishing
138. Sailing
139. Windsurfing
140. Bodysurfing
141. Participate in Fort-de-France’s half marathon
142. Jeep tours
143. Participate in the Tour de la Martinique
144. Watch a soccer game
145. Snorkelling
146. La Caravelle peninsula nature reserve
147. Birdwatching
148. Iguana watching in Ilet Chancel
149. Yachting
150. Discover La Route des Caps
151. Hike Le Canal des Esclaves
CONVENIENT ACCESS
152. Air France flights from Miami, Florida
153. Air Caraïbe flights from San Juan, Puerto Rico and neighbouring islands
154. LIAT flights from Barbados
155. Self-skippered yachts
156. Take the Caribbean Express
157. Take a Caribbean cruise with a stopover in Martinique
158. Take the ferry from Fort-de-France to Pointe-du-Bout or to Sainte-Anne
159. Take a fisherman’s boat to the islets of Robert or François
A LEARNING EXPERIENCE
160. Martinique Bonjour (French immersion program)
161. Learn Creole (the language, the architecture, the cuisine)
162. A rich history and a lively culture
INTERESTING PEOPLE
163. Aimé Césaire (poet, father of the Negritude movement, mayor of Fort-de-France)
164. Patrick Chamoiseau (won the Goncourt prize for Texaco)
165. Paul Gauguin (lived in Carbet before moving to Tahiti)
166. Frantz Fanon (author of The Wretched of the Earth)
167. Euzhan Palcy (film maker, Sugar Cane Alley, A Dry White Season)
168. Empress Josephine (Napoleon’s wife)
169. Cyparis (the only survivor of Saint-Pierre)
170. Victor Schoelcher (who helped abolish slavery in 1848)
171. André Breton (author of Martinique Charmeuse de Serpents)
172. Truman Capote (inspired by the island for Music For Chameleons)
173. Beauregard (a famous maroon)
174. Madame de Maintenon (spent part of her childhood in Prêcheur)
175. Edouard Glissant (author of Faulkner Mississippi)
ENJOY THE ISLAND’S RHYTHMS
176. Biguine and zouk
177. Bel air and laghia, traditional dances inherited from Africa
178. Christmas carol parties
179. The annual Festival of Sacred, Popular and Profane Musics in December
180. L’Atrium cultural center in Fort-de-France
181. More than 15 discotheques
182. Live concerts at bars, jazz clubs and piano bars
183. Punch en Musique every Sunday at Manoir de Beauregard, Ste Anne
184. Nature concertos at night
185. Listen to the radio while driving
186. Ti-Bois
SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP
187. 18-carat gold Creole jewellery
188. La Galleria mall, the largest shopping centre in the Lesser Antilles
189. Pottery at Trois-Ilets (have your mug personalized)
190. Basket weaving at Morne des Esses, Sainte-Marie
191. Stroll through the markets and buy exotic spices (vanilla, safran, turmeric and more)
192. Madras fabric
193. Old, white or paille rums, the best in the Caribbean (Martinique has the only rum with Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée)
194. French perfumes (duty free!)
195. Bakoua hats
196. French fashion
197. Local jams (banana, guava, coconut and more)
198. Adornos and reproductions by artist Victor Anicet at espace poterie in Rivière Salée
199. Foie Gras made in Martinique at Habitation Durocher, Lamentin
200. Books and CDs
201. Cane sugar from Le Galion factory
202. Artwork by local artists (Breleur, Laouchez and others)
DID YOU KNOW THAT MARTINIQUE WAS FEATURED IN…
203. Belle Maman with Catherine Deneuve?
204. The Thomas Crown Affair with Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo?
AND MUCH MORE
Art de vivre
Creole joie de vivre
Romance
A unique blend of cultures
Bon voyage!
Disclaimer: The information in this article/release was accurate at
press time; however, we suggest you confirm all details and prices
directly with vendors.
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