Pointe du Bout Activities

Beaches: The clean white-sand beaches of Pointe du Bout, site of the major hotels of Martinique, were created by developers and tend to be rather small. Most of the tourists head here, so the narrow beaches are among the island's most crowded. It doesn't help that Pointe du Bout also has several marinas lining the shore, as well as the docking point for the ferry from Fort de France. Even if you don't find a lot of space on the beach, with its semi-clear waters, you will find toilets, phones, restaurants, and cafes galore. The waters suffer from industrial usage, although apparently the pollution is not severe enough to prevent people from going in. You'll often see the French standing deep in the water, smoking cigarettes -- perhaps not your idea of an idyllic beach vacation.

To the south, however, the golden-sand beaches at Anse Mitan have always been welcoming visitors, including many snorkelers. The beaches here are far less crowded and more inviting, with cleaner waters. However, the steepness of Martinique's shoreline leaves much to be desired by its swimmers and snorkelers. The water declines steeply into depths, no reefs ring the shores, and fish are rarely visible. Nonetheless, beaches here are ideal for sunbathing.

The neighboring beach to Anse-Mitan is Anse-à-l'Ane, an ideal place for a picnic on the white sands.

Golf: Robert Trent Jones, Sr., designed the 18-hole Golf de l'Impératrice-Josèphine, at Trois-Ilets ([tel] 0596/68-32-81), a 5-minute drive from Pointe du Bout and about 18 miles from Fort-de-France. The only golf course on Martinique, the greens slope from the birthplace of Empress Joséphine (for whom it's named) across rolling hills with scenic vistas down to the sea. Amenities include a pro shop, a bar, a restaurant, and three tennis courts. Greens fees are $43.25 for 18 holes.

Horseback riding: The premier riding facility on Martinique is Ranch Jack, Esperanze, Trois-Ilets ([tel] 0596/68-37-69). It offers morning horseback rides for both experienced and novice riders, at a cost of $56 for a 3-hour ride. Jacques and Marlene Guinchard make daily promenades across the beaches and fields of Martinique, with a running explication of the history, fauna, and botany of the island. Cold drinks are included in the price, and transportation is usually free to and from the hotels of nearby Pointe du Bout. Four to 15 participants are needed to book a tour. This is an ideal way to discover both the botany and geography of Martinique.

Scuba Diving & Snorkeling: The beachfront of the Hotel Meridien (at Pointe du Bout) is the headquarters for the island's best-recommended dive outfit, Espace Plongee Martinique ([tel] 0596/66-01-00), which welcomes anyone who shows up, regardless of where they happen to be staying. Daily dive trips, depending on demand, leave from Hotel Meridien's pier every day at 9am, returning at noon, and at 2:30pm, returning at 6pm. Popular dive sites within a reasonable boat ride, with enough diversity and variation in depth to appeal to divers of all degrees of proficiency, include La Baleine (The Whale) and Cap Solomon. A dive shop stocks everything you'll need to take the plunge, from weight belts and tanks to wet suits and underwater cameras. Divers pay between $35.25 and $40 per session. Instruction for novice divers, which is conducted in Le Méridien's pool every day from 11:30am to noon, is free.

Snorkeling equipment is usually available free to hotel guests, who quickly learn that coral, fish, and ferns abound in the waters around the Pointe du Bout hotels.

Tennis: Tennis pros at Bathy's Club at the Hotel Meridien, Pointe du Bout ([tel] 0596/66-06-00), usually allow nonguests to play for free if the courts are otherwise unoccupied, except at night, when the charge is almost always imposed.

You can also play on one of the three courts at Golf de l'Impératrice-Joséphine, at Trois-Ilets ([tel] 0596/68-32-81). The setting here is one of the most beautiful on Martinique. It costs $12.75 per hour to play. No racquet rentals are available.

Windsurfing: An enduringly popular sport in the French West Indies, windsurfing (``la planche à voile'') is available at most of the large-scale hotels. One of the best equipped is the Cabane des Sports, the beachfront facilities at the Hotel Meridien, Pointe du Bout ([tel] 0596/66-00-00). Lessons cost $24 for 1 hour, and boards rent for about $9.50 an hour.

Fort-de-France Activities

If it's a beach you're looking for, take the ferry to Pointe du Bout.

Deep-Sea Fishing: Most hotels maintain a list of the yachts and skippers who will take groups out for a day on the wide blue sea. If yours doesn't offer such arrangements, call the staff at Caribtours, B.P. 292, Lamentin ([tel] 0596/50-93-52). The cost of renting such a boat, in which all equipment is usually included, is $124.75 for a half-day charter for up to six anglers. Most game fish tend to be most active very early in the morning, and many experienced fishers claim that it's not worth going after 10am, so departures tend to leave before breakfast, around 6am. Note, however, that this sport is in decline in waters around Martinique due to overfishing.

Hiking: Inexpensive guided hikes are organized year-round by the personnel of the Parc Naturel Régional de la Martinique, Excollège Agricole de Tivoli, B.P. 437, Fort-de-France ([tel] 0596/73-19-30); special excursions can be arranged for small groups.

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Fort-de-France Attractions

At the heart of Fort-de-France is La Savane, a broad garden with many palms and mangos, playing fields, walks, and benches, plus shops and cafes lining its sides. In the middle of this grand square stands a statue of Josèphine, ``Napoleon's little Creole,'' made of white marble by Vital Debray. With the grace of a Greek goddess, the statue poses in a Regency gown and looks toward Les Trois-Ilets, where she was born. The statue was beheaded, though, in 1991, probably because islanders felt she championed slavery. Near the harbor, at the edge of the park, you'll find vendors' stalls with handmade crafts, including baskets, beads, bangles, woodcarvings, and straw hats.

Your next stop should be the 1875 St. Louis Roman Catholic Cathedral, on rue Victor-Schoelcher. The religious centerpiece of the island, it's an extraordinary iron building, which someone once likened to ``a sort of Catholic railway station.'' A number of the island's former governors are buried beneath the choir loft.

A statue in front of the Palais de Justice is of the island's second main historical figure, Victor Schoelcher (you'll see his name a lot on Martinique), who worked to free the slaves more than a century ago. Bibliotheque Schoelcher, 21 rue de la Liberté ([tel] 0596/70-26-67), also honors this popular hero. Functioning today as the island's central government-funded library, the elaborate structure was first displayed at the Paris Exposition of 1889. The Romanesque portal, the Egyptian lotus-petal columns, even the turquoise tiles were imported piece by piece from Paris and reassembled here. It's open Monday from 1 to 5:30pm, Tuesday through Thursday from 8:30am to 5:30pm, Friday from 8:30am to 5pm, and Saturday from 8:30am to noon.

Guarding the port is Fort St-Louis, built in the Vauban style on a rocky promontory. In addition, Fort Tartenson and Fort Desaix stand on hills overlooking the port.

Musee Departemental de la Martinique, 9 rue de la Liberte ([tel] 0596/71-57-05), the one bastion on Martinique that preserves its pre-Columbian past, has relics left from the early settlers, the Arawaks, and the Caribs. The era the museum celebrates is from 3000 b.c. to a.d. 1635. Everything here stops shortly after the arrival of the first French colonials on the southern tip of Martinique in the early 1600s. In other words, it's mostly an ethnological museum, which was enlarged and reorganized into a more dynamic and up-to-date place in 1997. The museum faces La Savane and is open Monday to Friday from 8am to 5pm and on Saturday from 9am to noon; admission is $4 for adults, $2.50 for students, and $1.50 for children.

Sacre-Coeur de Balata Cathedral, at Balata, overlooking Fort-de-France, is a copy of the one looking down from Montmartre upon Paris -- and this one is just as incongruous, maybe more so.

A few minutes away on route RN3, Jardin de Balata ([tel] 0596/64-48-73) is a tropical botanical park, created by Jean-Philippe Thoze on land that the jungle was rapidly reclaiming around a Creole house that belonged to his grandmother. He has also restored the house, furnishing it with antiques and historic engravings. The garden contains a profusion of flowers, shrubs, and trees, offering a vision of tropical splendor. It's open daily from 9am to 5pm. Admission is $6.50 for adults, $2.50 for children age 7 to 12, and free for children under age 6.

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Les Trois-Ilets Attractions

Twenty miles south of Fort-de-France, you reach Les Trois-Ilets, a charming little village. A mile outside the village, turn left to La Pagerie, where the small Musee de la Pagerie ([tel] 0596/68-33-06) has been installed in the former estate kitchen, where Josephine gossiped with her slaves and played the guitar. Along with her childhood bed, you'll see a passionate letter from Napoleon and other mementos. The collection was compiled by Dr. Robert Rose-Rosette.

Still remaining are the partially restored ruins of the Pagerie sugar mill and the church (in the village itself) where she was christened in 1763. The plantation was destroyed in a hurricane. The museum is open Tuesday through Friday from 9am to 5:30pm, Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 1pm and 2:30 to 5:30pm. Admission is $3.25.

Maison de la Canne, Pointe Vatable ([tel] 0596/68-32-04), is on the road to Trois-Ilets. (From Fort-de-France, you can take a taxi or shuttle bus to La Marina, Pointe du Bout; from here, an unnumbered bus heads for Pointe Vatable.) Located on the premises of an 18th-century distillery, its permanent exhibitions tell the story of sugarcane and the sweeping role it played in the economic and cultural development of Martinique. It's open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 5:30pm, charging an admission of $3.25 for adults, 80 cents for children age 5 to 12, free for children age 4 and under.

The Marina complex has a number of interesting boutiques; several sell handcrafts and curios from Martinique. They're sometimes of good quality, but are quite expensive, particularly the enameled jewel boxes and some of the batiks of natural silk.

At Christmastime, many of the island's traditional foie gras and pastries are presented in crocks made by Martinique's largest earthenware factories, the Poterie de Trois-Ilets, Habitation, Trois-Ilets ([tel] 0596/68-03-44). At least 90% of its production is devoted to brick making. However, one small-scale offshoot of the company devotes itself to producing earth-toned stoneware and pottery whose colors and shapes have contributed to the folklore of Martinique. In theory, the studios are open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5:30pm, but call before you set out to make sure they'll accept visitors.

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