Tips & Tricks
Grand Cul-de-Sac Marin Nature Reserve (Basse-Terre) – established in the late 1980s, the National Park manages a 3,700-hectare nature reserve at the heart of a vast bay closed off by the longest coral reef in the Lesser Antilles. With a myriad of different coastal features, le Grand-Cul-de-sac Marin boasts mangroves, swampy forests, grassy marshes, herbaceous […]
Fort Louis Delgrès (Le Carmel, Basse-Terre) — Fort Louis Delgrès—Guadeloupe’s historical Mecca—towers over Basse-Terre, the island’s oldest city (founded in 1643). Formerly Fort Royal, Fort Richepance, and Fort Saint Charles, the fortification was declared a national historic monument in 1977. Take a self-guided tour of the fort and museum, or show up on a Friday […]
Guadeloupe’s Creole Eco-Museum (Route de Sofaïa, Sainte-Rose, Basse-Terre) — If there was ever a place where originality was rivaled only by a desire to preserve heritage, it’s in the Creole garden along Sainte-Rose’s Route de Sofaïa. Guadeloupe’s Creole eco-museum is a kaleidoscopic botanical garden that features a collection of tropical species, including medicinal plants, as […]
Les Saintes (islands) — Les Saintes consists of two inhabited islands, Terre-de-Haut (5 km2) and Terre-de-Bas (8 km2), and seven islets. The first European inhabitants of Les Saintes were Bretons and Normans. Fort Napoléon has a panoramic view and beautiful exotic gardens in what used to be the fort’s ramparts. Baie des Saintes in Terre-de-Haut […]
La Pointe de la Grande Vigie y Porte d’Enfer (Anse-Bertrand, Grand La Pointe de la Grande Vigie and Porte d’Enfer (Anse-Bertrand, Grande-Terre) —located on the north coast of Grand Terre, La Pointe de la Grande Vigie are monumental cliffs with unforgettable vistas Signs in French warn visitors that there are sometimes rock slides, with unsuspecting […]
The eastern Caribbean island of Guadeloupe was first discovered by Christopher Columbus during his second voyage to America in 1493. He named that island Santa María de Guadalupe de Extremadura (which would later be shortened to Guadelupe). Although he himself never settled on the island, Spanish settlers eventually did make their way to Guadeloupe. With […]