The Saint-Antoine Market is the obligatory entrée to Pointe-à-Pitre. Open every day except Sunday afternoon, it peaks in animation between 6:30 and 9 am. Stalls overflow with exotic fruits, spices, tropical flowers, fresh fish. Vendors in traditional madras haggle in a joyful atmosphere. Ideal for buying spices and local bottled rum.
The ACTe Memorial (opened in 2015 on the former Darboussier sugar refinery site) is one of the world's most important museums on the memory of slavery and the slave trade. Spectacular contemporary building, permanent scenography tracing the history of slavery from Antiquity to the present with focus on the Atlantic slave trade. Allow 2-3h for the visit (€15 entry, closed Monday). Essential stop to understand Guadeloupean identity.
Place de la Victoire is the historic heart of the city — a square shaded by centuries-old sandbox trees and flamboyants, bordered by the Town Hall, the Sub-Prefecture and terrace cafés. The Saint-Pierre-and-Saint-Paul Cathedral (19th c.) is famous for its metal pillars by Gustave Eiffel, installed after the 1843 earthquake. Then stroll through the shopping streets (Frébault, Nozières, Schoelcher) animated on weekdays.
The Schoelcher House (free museum dedicated to the abolitionist Victor Schoelcher) and the Saint-John-Perse Museum (dedicated to the Guadeloupean poet and 1960 Nobel laureate) complete the cultural visit. On the port, the Darse (animated waterfront) hosts colourful fishing boats and numerous terraces for lunch — bokits, accras, grilled fish, ti-punch facing the quays.
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- Grande-Terre, beaches and lagoons — The eastern wing of the butterfly island: Sainte-Anne, Saint-François, Pointe des Châteaux.
- Sainte-Anne, Caravelle Beach — 30 min from Pointe-à-Pitre: the family seaside heart of Grande-Terre.
- Guadeloupe — Complete archipelago guide: entry rules, budget, when to visit.
- Basse-Terre, volcano and jungle — The western wing of the butterfly island, 1h from Pointe-à-Pitre.