Fort-de-France

Fort-de-France is the economic, administrative and cultural capital of Martinique — a city of 130,000 inhabitants (more than a third of the island's population) set at the bottom of one of the most beautiful bays in the world according to UNESCO classification. Often ignored by travellers who go directly to the southern beaches, it nevertheless absolutely deserves one or two days of discovery for those who want to understand the administrative, urban and political soul of the Island of Flowers.

The historic heart organises around La Savane, vast esplanade shaded by 80 royal palms bordering the Caribbean Sea and gently sloping down from the city centre. This is where the statue of Aimé Césaire stands, emblematic mayor of the city for 56 years (1945-2001), poet, playwright and theorist of négritude, one of the greatest French-speaking intellectual voices of the 20th century. La Savane is also the theatre of major popular events: carnival, Tour des Yoles, celebrations of 22 May (abolition of slavery in Martinique in 1848).

Two steps away stands the Schoelcher Library (1893), absolutely unique architectural masterpiece in the Caribbean: a prefabricated metal building — cast-iron columns, art metalwork, ceramic mosaics — assembled for the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition, dismantled piece by piece and transported by boat to Martinique to be reassembled. The library, still active, houses the collection bequeathed by Victor Schoelcher (architect of the abolition of slavery in 1848). Right next door, the Saint-Louis Cathedral (1895), with its characteristic metal spire, dominates the centre.

The Fort Saint-Louis (17th century, Vauban fortification remodelled in the 18th), at the southern end of La Savane, is one of the oldest buildings on the island — still in military activity (French Antilles naval base). It is visited with a military guide (paid visit, €8-10).

The Grand Covered Market is the commercial and social soul of Fort-de-France: Creole spices, arranged rums, tropical fruits (mangoes, pineapples, sapodillas, passion fruits), traditional basketry, madras fabrics, Creole catering. Two steps away, the fish market gathers every morning fishermen with their fresh catches of the day.