The capital Martinique stormed was an intriguing clash of France and the Caribbean.
On the fun and lovely streets of this port city are places like the wonderful Bibliothèque Schœlcher, an art masterpiece built in Paris and delivered to pieces for Martinique. Be tempted by the Creole markets with tropical flavors and fragrances, and find out all you need to know about white rum at a historic distillery. Then head out to the island and explore the vast gorges covered with tropical vegetation, bananas and sugarcane, abundant botanical gardens and the kind of beach you think only exists in movies. Discover the best things to do in Fort-de-France.
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1. Jardin de Balata
For two decades from 1982, gardeners Jean-Philippe Thoze have managed a range of rare tropical plants, including 300 different palm varieties. They are written on old farmland with the wonderful Carbet Mountains nearby.
You’ll be enchanted by the sudden splashes of vivid color of flowers like hibiscus, begonias, exotic lilies, ginger flowers and heliconias, all jumping out against the garden’s lush greenery.
Birdlife such as hummingbirds are as pleased with the gardens as you and me, and only add to the color and atmosphere.
2. Bibliothèque Schœlcher
In the late 19th century, writer and politician abolished Victor Schœlcher left his vast library of 10,000 books to the General Council of Martinique. His condition was that they should be kept in a private library open to all, with the aim of educating former slaves.
Sadly, many of these episodes were lost due to fires and tornadoes before the library was completed, but today there are 300,000 at the library. The main building is the star, especially when viewed on the beautiful outside grounds: The design is a wild mixture of Byzantine, Egypt, Western classical and modern art.
3. St. Louis Cathedral
Natural disasters have always been routine on Martinique: One fact that proves this more than any is that the current St. Louis Cathedral is the seventh to have been erected at this location.
Which makes it all the more impressive is that the present one was completed as far back as 1895. It was designed by Henri Picq (who also invented Bibliothèque Schœlcher), and the reason for its longevity is an iron frame and reinforced concrete.
Poke inside for a few minutes to get your eyes through the wooden platform, 19 stained glass windows, internal organs, and wrought iron railings, all of which are originals.
4. Pitons du Carbet
If you continue on the N3 past the Jardins de Balata you’ll soon come to the turn-off for the Parking du Plateau Boucher, from which you can begin a memorable walk along the Route de la Trace.
The Pitons du Carbet is a massif of five volcanic andesite peaks formed a million years ago and topping out at 1,200 meters.
These peaks are sharp and cloaked with dense tropical vegetation, and within minutes the path gets steep, so it’s only an undertaking for people with all the right gear and information.
But if you have that outward bound spirit you’ll be compensated by those dreamlike vistas from the summit of Piton Lacroix: Moody when the clouds draw in and boundless when the skies are clear.
5. Canyon de l’Alma
For those who want to stir up adrenaline to another peak in the Pitons du Carbet, there is a majestic canyon on the Blanche. How you use it depends on the amount of time and nerves you have.
Many people come for an all-day canyoning adventure, abseiling down waterfalls, rappelling into ravines and jumping from rocks into natural pools. But if that sounds a bit much you could visit the canyon on a 30-minute looping trail deep into the tropical forest.
6. Musée Régional d’Histoire et d’Ethnographie
This museum is housed in a colonial mansion built in 1887, making it one of the oldest in Fort-de-France. It belonged to the director of the artillery and is enveloped in grounds with mango and mahogany trees.
The permanent exhibition is upstairs, where the museum has preserved the living room, dining room, bedroom and bathroom of a bourgeois home in Martinique at the end of the 19th century.
The ground floor houses temporary exhibitions, with cases displaying local ethnographic items, such as stone and ceramic carvings. There are also typical West Indian dresses, made of cotton satin and madras, called douillettes.
7. Fort-Saint-Louis
The majestic fortress in Fort de France is one of the places you'll have to look from the outside, as it is still in use by the French navy. The only time you can get for a guided tour is during the National Heritage Days in September.
The fact that the stronghold is still a military base shows how well fortifications like this were built in the 1600s and 1700s. It’s also still a good idea to come and see the walls from the outside.
The fortress is located on a headland, showing great views back to the rest of Fort de France with faint mountains in the distance.
8. La Savane
At the base of the land occupied by Fort Saint-Louis is a 5-hectare park with open green spaces framed by tamarind, bishop's hat, and royal palms. It is a meeting place for centuries and a place for the Fort de France festival in February or March.
There are also faint fragments of a fortress once here, and don't be surprised to see one or two salamanders in the park! But most interesting is the vandalized headless statue of Empress Josephine, Napoleon’s wife.
But she’s a divisive figure, understandably because the word is that she persuaded Napoleon to reinstate slavery, presumably to help her family’s business interests on Martinique.
9. Distillerie La Favorite
Located on the hills between Fort de France and Lamentin, is a distillery distilled white rum in a large sugarcane plantation. If there’s a time to visit, it’s during the busy season from January to June, when the cane is harvested by hand, crushed, fermented and then distilled in large copper stills.
Later, rum was brewed in oak barrels, for 30 years. A visit here is quite a casual affair as there’s no organized tour, but you will be able to see how the distillery functions and will even get to taste that smooth 30-year-old rum.
That could be enough incentive to come, as this can retail for several hundred dollars a bottle.
10. Whale and Dolphin-Watching
Heading south, around Baie de Fort de France to Josephine's home town of Les Trois-Îlets: This is the starting point for dolphins and whale cruises. The peak season is roughly from December to March, and there’s a big directory of operators offering this experience here.
If you can you should try to make it luxurious, on a skippered catamaran with cocktails and even a creole lunch as you scan the waters for fins. Bottlenose, Risso’s and Fraser’s dolphins will most likely be there to greet you at any time of year, but humpback whales are only around the Caribbean Sea in winter to mate.
More ideals for you: Top 10 things to do in Fiumicino
from : https://wikitopx.com/travel/top-10-things-to-do-in-fort-de-france-707383.html
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