To fully explore Martinique takes time, as it has a wide variety of landscapes: beaches, lush forests, waterfalls, volcanoes, desert areas with tall cacti and picturesque villages.
Dominated by the majestic volcano Mont Pelée, the island offers a mosaic of experiences ranging from unspoilt nature to rich colonial history. Visitors can explore ancient plantations turned into museums, stroll through the colourful alleyways of picturesque Creole villages and discover renowned rum distilleries.
From the bustling capital Fort-de-France to the quiet fishing villages, from the rainforest to the protected bays, Martinique is a concentration of biodiversity and traditions that enchants every type of traveller.
The Balata Garden is one of Martinique’s main tourist attractions, with almost 160,000 visitors each year: a small, flower-filled corner, with countless exotic plants, spread out in terraces. Located on the heights of Fort-de-France, the garden was created in 1982 by a passionate horticulturist named Philippe Thoze, who built his little tropical paradise for almost 20 years around his family’s Creole house.
Today, it is an idyllic setting where you can take a long walk to discover all the beauty and diversity of the vegetation on the island of Martinique. You can admire an incredible selection of flowers in shimmering colours and atypical shapes, mangroves, centuries-old trees and numerous hummingbirds, which have come to seek food in the garden. It is a true little oasis of peace and beauty where you can stroll afterwards through the different gardens, all of which are beautiful.
Not to be missed is an amazing experience, the walk across suspended bridges over the trees, with panoramic views of the Bay of Fort de France and the Pitons du Carbet. At over 15 metres high, this tour is accessible to all visitors from 8 years of age.
Fort-de-France is Martinique’s only large city and its capital. You can spend half a day there to discover the market, do some shopping and some sightseeing in the historic centre. The city is particularly lively in the morning, when it is not too hot, and quickly becomes deserted at the end of the day, when the market closes.
Don’t miss a tour of its colourful fruit, flower and spice market, open from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Saint-Louis cathedral, imposing with its 58-metre-high spire, the Schœlcher library and its atypical building, the Fort Saint-Louis and its splendid view over the Bay of Fort-de-France, and the Martinique Departmental Museum with the history of the island and Amerindian civilisation.
Les Anses-d’Arlet is a fishing village that stretches over several creeks. The view from the wooden jetty jutting out into the turquoise sea, with the beautiful Saint-Henri church, is marvellous. Destroyed twice in the past, in 1762 during an attack by the English and in 2007 during Hurricane Dean, the church was restored in 2012.
The view is really beautiful and it is one of the must-see places on the island.
Saint-Pierre is located some 30 kilometres from Fort-de-France, at the foot of the famous Mount Pelée volcano. This is the ancient capital of the island, where the first colony was founded. Classified as a City of Art and History, it still retains evidence of a painful past.
The city of Saint-Pierre is indeed marked by the volcanic eruption of the volcano on 8 May 1902, a natural catastrophe that destroyed the city and claimed almost 30,000 lives. It was only in 1920 that the town managed to revive its centre and become a tourist destination once again.
After touring the northern part of the island, immerse yourself in the peaceful atmosphere of Saint-Pierre and discover its vestiges of yesteryear, in particular the ruins of the theatre, the fortress church and the rue Monte-au-Ciela, with its picturesque original stairways. Also of interest is the Franck Perret volcanological museum, which traces the history of the city through a collection of photographs, objects and archives.
The port of Saint-Pierre is also full of charm. And don’t miss the splendid view of the city on the N2 road, just before arriving in the city from the south, with a magnificent view of the Montagne Pelée and the city below.
A small town in the extreme south of Martinique, Sainte-Anne is very popular with tourists: there are many holiday residences and it is the access point to some of the island’s most beautiful beaches.
Don’t hesitate to stroll through the streets lined with colourful houses, discover its market and do some shopping in the small souvenir shops.
The la Caravelle peninsula is an excellent choice to visit one of Martinique’s most remote corners, which offers an end-of-the-world atmosphere.
The remote corners and landscapes of the peninsula are definitely worth the diversions: windswept cliffs, unusual beaches, two well-marked hikes, magnificent panoramas and breathtaking wilderness await you.
Not to be missed are the ruins of Château Dubuc, an old sugar cane farm dating back to the 18th century, and Surfers’ Beach where boarders can frolic in the waves. The beach at Anse l’Étang, surrounded by two rocky peaks, is also very pleasant.
An enchanting fishing village located on the northern tip of Martinique, Grand’Rivière is not easy to access as it is necessary to drive north via a long winding road. However, the route is definitely worth a visit, as the road winds its way through lush vegetation.
For an impressive view of the village, make a brief stop on the heights just before arriving at Grand’Rivière. Once down, you can admire the church, the tiny cemetery, the colourful houses and the beautiful black sand beach and have lunch in some Creole restaurants that also serve freshly caught seafood.
Martinique is known for its rum, so visiting a distillery is one of the must-do things to do during your stay. Of course, there are several distilleries on the island, but the two best known are Habitation Clément and the Saint-James Rum Museum and Distillery.
The Habitation Clément8 is located in Le François. It is an old rum distillery converted into a museum where you can learn about the importance of sugar cane cultivation in Martinique’s history. The place is enchanting, with an old palace, the manor house, complete with all the original furnishings of the time, and a wooded park, with an adjoining botanical garden, where you can admire plant species that are truly exotic to us. And of course the experience includes a taste of rum.
Distillerie Saint-James et Musée du Rhum9 is located in Sainte-Marie and houses the Martinique Rum Museum. It is an old colonial house built in 1875. The gardens surrounding the museum are wonderful. You will be able to see the distillery still in operation producing world-renowned AOC rums.
To learn more about Martinique’s history and culture, you can go to Savane des Escalves located in Trois Ilets. It is an open-air museum illustrating life on the island over the centuries, with a focus on the way of life of the inhabitants of the time and the life of the slaves.
The park covers 3 hectares and you can visit a reconstruction of a Native American village with 20 traditional huts and a Creole and medicinal garden.
This work was designed by Martinique artist Laurent Valère on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. It is a memorial that pays tribute to the victims of the sinking of a slave ship in 1830.
The site is striking to behold and moving, with its 15 white stone statues that seem to peer into the Caribbean Sea, positioned tightly on the ground and forming a triangle, very impressive.
Located off the coast of Saint François, in southern Martinique, le Baignoire de Joséphine is a special place in the middle of the sea, where the water is very shallow and it is therefore possible to swim calmly in a sort of transparent lagoon, surrounded by the sea.
The ‘white bottoms’ come from a wide strip of white sand located between the islet Thierry and the islet Oscar, bordered by a coral reef. Its crystal-clear waters can be reached by boat, usually on an excursion.
This scenic route, about 40 km long, is often taken by travellers with a hire car, as it passes through beautiful scenery in the lush forest. It links Fort-de-France and Le Morne-Rouge via the Pitons du Carbet and the Jardin de Balata.
The road is well-maintained and is one of the must-see experiences on the island: the origin of its name comes from the many paths that start near it, the best known of which is the Jesuit Trail.
There are many waterfalls in Martinique and one cannot leave the island without discovering at least one. Most are accessible via beautiful nature hikes. Don’t be afraid to immerse yourself in the lush nature of the island, the paths are clearly visible and accessible to all.
The most famous are Didier Waterfall14 or Couleuvre Waterfall15, both of which can be reached by hiking in about an hour. They are enclosed in exceptional scenery, surrounded by lush, film-like wilderness, where you can also take a swim, to refresh yourself after the walk.
Also worth seeing is the L'SDG16 waterfall, accessible in two minutes from the D1 side of the road: suitable for those who do not like walking, but decidedly less scenic.
In the following map you can see the location of the main places of interest mentioned in this article.
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