Martinique

Martinique is the island the Caribbean may have kept best: a 1,128 km² territory lost in the Antillean arc, between Dominica to the north and Saint Lucia to the south, where French art of living meets Creole culture, AOC agricultural rum and the most varied tropical landscapes of the Lesser Antilles. Nicknamed Madinina by the Carib Amerindians ("the island of flowers"), Martinique offers within a few hours' drive an exceptional landscape diversity: white sand beaches of the south (Les Salines, Anse Trabaud), black volcanic sand coves of the north (Anse Couleuvre, Anse Lévrier), mangroves of Génipa bay, humid tropical forest of the regional park, wild Caravelle peninsula classified as a Nature Reserve, and of course Mount Pelée (1,397 m), an active volcano sadly famous for its May 1902 eruption that destroyed Saint-Pierre in minutes and killed nearly 30,000.

A French overseas department since 1946, Martinique allows European travellers a total change of scene without any administrative friction: no visa, no currency exchange, no exotic roaming, the same electrical outlets and the same health system as in mainland France. This unique accessibility nonetheless hides a real journey: the Creole language echoes through the Fort-de-France markets, the cuisine summons colombo of goat, cod accras and Creole black pudding, ti-punch is sipped at sunset on the wooden pontoons, and the yoles rondes — traditional sailing boats derived from fishermen's canoes — cleave the Caribbean Sea during the popular races that mobilise the whole island each summer.

Martinique is lived slowly: tropical heat, constant trade winds, Antillean rhythm impose a gentle tempo that runs counter to the European way of travelling. Fifteen days are a minimum to cover the island in its three major ensembles — the beach-resort south between Trois-Îlets and Sainte-Anne, the urban centre around Fort-de-France and the Caravelle peninsula, the wild cultural north with Saint-Pierre, Mount Pelée and the fishing villages. An ideal destination for travellers who want exoticism without complexity, sunshine without vaccines, the elsewhere without giving up the euro.