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Pointe-A -Pitre
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POINTE-A?-PITRE
is liveliest around the
Quai de la Darse
, an extensive pier edging the length of the waterfront. The quay itself is lined with Guadeloupe's most lively
markets
- a jamboree of spices, fruit, fish, T-shirts and various island sundries are hawked here from dawn until mid-afternoon - and serves as the departure point for
ferries
to the outer islands.
The scant local sights are within walking distance of the quay, starting a couple of blocks west, at no. 9 rue NoziA?res, where a handsome colonial house contains the modest MusA©e St-Jean Perse (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 8.30am-12.30pm; a?¬2.28), devoted to the island's native-born Nobel laureate poet. The quality of the displays is patchy, though there are some amusing postcards of bygone Guadeloupe. A better collection is situated a few blocks further west, at no.24 rue Peynier, where the MusA©e Schoelcher (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm; a?¬1.52) showcases abolitionist Victor Schoelcher's assorted bric-a-brac - his own copy of the Venus de Milo among them. A couple of blocks north of the Quai, behind the charmless Place de la Victoire that commemorates Victor Hugues' victory over the British, is Pointe-A -Pitre's major landmark, the Gustav Eiffel-designed steel CathA©drale de St-Pierre-et-St-Paul . Look for screws and bolts protruding from the columns in the apse.
The
Aquarium de la Guadeloupe
(daily 9am-7pm; a?¬6.40, a?¬3.51 under-12's), five kilometres east of Pointe-A -Pitre, will appeal to kids, especially its open turtle and shark aquariums. The nearby remains of
Fort Fleur-d'A?pA©e
(daily 9am-5pm; free), a seventeenth-century Vauban-style military base, have commanding views of Grande-Terre and the sea, but little remaining infrastructure. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Guadeloupe,
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