Tips & Tricks
L’Habitation La Grivelière (Vallèe de Grand Rivière, Vieux Habitants, Basse-Terre) – this is a coffee and cocoa plantation in Vieux Habitants (located in the southeast coast of Basse-Terre) that dates back to the 1700s. This place gives visitors a glimpse of the French Caribbean economy during the colonial period. Admission: €7.50 (adults), €4.50 (children). Those […]
Le Gosier Islet—this small island is located off the southern coast of Grande-Terre. Locals get there by either swimming or kayak paddling their way into it from Datcha Beach. Divers can explore the tropical marine life from the new and improved underwater trail by that islet.
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]