MARTINIQUE
Christopher Columbus called Martinique ‘the most beautiful country in the world’, when he discovered it in 1493. He named the country Martinique in honor of St. Martin and before that it was inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians and called Madinia.
Located in the French West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea, off the northwestern coast of South America, the country is an overseas department of France.
During the 18th and 19th centuries the island was briefly under British control but other than that it has remained under French subjugation since 1635.
Martinique's picturesque volcanic landscape, its fine black, white or peppered sand beaches surrounded by sugar, palm, banana and pineapple plantations are the reason that it draws a very large crowd of tourists the year round and its economy largely thrives on tourism.
GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE
An island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, Martinique has a land area of 1,128 sq. km. Dominica lies to its north and St. Lucia to its south. The country is mainly mountainous, though the land here is varied, with large stretches of flat land juxtaposed with large mountains.
The weather is warm in Martinique almost all throughout the year because it has a tropical climate. The major part of its rainy season falls in autumn. From December through May is the dry season and the best time to visit the country s well.
ECONOMY AND CURRENCY
The country has adopted the Euro as its monetary unit. The economy of Martinique is based mainly on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry and tourism; tourism has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange.
PEOPLE, CULTURE AND LANGUAGES
The culture of Martinique is an interesting blend of the French and Caribbean cultures. Almost of Martinique's population has descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations during the colonial era. Today the standard of living on the island is higher than in most other Caribbean countries.
The people often dance to the Mazurca or the waltz and Martinique has developed its own form of music as the Biguine.
Catholicism is the main religion of the country.
Many Martinicans speak Martinican Creole, though French is the official language of the country.
CAPITAL AND MAJOR CITIES
Not only is Fort-de-France the capital city of the country but also its largest city.
It is an effervescent city, having animated markets and of the odors of spices and of fruits fill up the center town. Fort de France offers a relatively recent inheritance since it has been destroyed on several occasions by the natural elements. The Schoelcher Library and the Saint-Louis Cathedral are typical metal architecture style which marked the end of the XIX century are major landmarks and attractions of the city.
The other major cities of the country, apart from its capital are: Le Lamentin, Le Robert, Sainte-Marie and Schoelcher.
HOW TO REACH
Air
The quickest and easiest way to reach Martinique is to fly there. The main airport of the country is Fort-de-France (FDF) (Lamentin), which is 11km (7 miles) from the city and the national airline is CTA Air Martinique.
Water
Fort-de-France is the major port of Martinique but the Pointe Simon cruise dock, nearer the city center, accommodates larger cruise ships. Additionally catamaran services run to Guadeloupe, St Lucia and Dominica, which are regular and high, speed.
HOLIDAYING IN MARTINIQUE
There is a little bit for everyone to do and participate in, in this country where there is always an extravaganza of festivities on. No matter what your interests are - musical, nautical, culinary, or cultural, there's a festival or event for it on Martinique. And not only that – runners, yachters, and sailors can enter several international competitions which the island hosts. If your style is more parades and street party kind, you'll love Vaval, Martinique's Carnival.
An excellent way to tour a port city or an island is via shore cruises and there is a variety to choose from, and you’re sure to find more than one you’re interested in.
Visit Fort-de-France and lose yourself in its winding streets and colorful markets. The park of La Savanne, in the center of the town, has a statue that commemorates Napoleon’s Empress Josephine, a native of Martinique and her home, La Pagerie, is one of the main tourist attractions.
At the Musée Départemental in Fort-de-France, you will find remains of the predominantly Arawak and Carib Indian prehistory of the island.
If you are in Martinique then visiting its volcanic mountain Montagne Pelée is unavoidable. In 1902 a unique explosion literally ripped the summit off, destroying the city of St Pierre and its entire population of 30,000. St Pierre, which was once a beautiful and remarkable city known as the ‘pearl of the Caribbean’, is now visited for its ruins. You can take a look at the exhibits, photographs and documents that tell the story of the disaster, at the Musée Volcanologique.
Even though St. Pierre is a run down city, you can see signs of its past glory lurking behind its ruins; the ruins of the theatre are a prominent feature and the old stone stairways and bridges still exist.
The long grey-sand beach is a popularly visited spot by the locals as it is possible to visit the wrecks of the ships which were in the harbour on the day Montagne Pelée erupted and all but one ship went down in the disaster. In order to view the wrecks and the colorful fish which swim around them, there are special submarines with glass windows take tourists there.
From Swimming to waterskiing, sailing, scuba-diving, snorkeling and spear-fishing, get your fill of water activities at the coastal resorts. There is a sailing event held each year around the Bay of Robert, the aqua-festival, which is great fun to participate in. For land based activities go to the Carère track at Lamentin and indulge in hiking, mountain climbing and mountain biking.
Martinique’s major resort area is Pointe du Bout, which is in the south of the island.
Distilleries abound throughout Martinique and don't leave the island without sampling the island rum. Just outside Trois-îlets, there is a modern museum, Maison de la Canne, devoted to sugar and rum.
Shopping
Shop for French wines, liqueurs and crystal. However, there are plenty of local products too that you can take back as souvenirs like rum, straw goods, bamboo hats, Creole dolls, Creole jewelry, baskets and objects of aromatic vetiver roots.
Cuisine
In the island’ cuisine you will find marked influences of the French and Caribbean influences. Additionally Creole cuisine, which is an original combination of French, Indian and African traditions seasoned with exotic spices, is also available.
Make it a point to sample the national delicacies like Lobster, red snapper, conch and sea urchin, stuffed crab, stewed conch and Colombo, which is a dish of goat, chicken, pork or lamb in a thick curry sauce.
The locals enjoy their locally made drinks- Ti punch, which is a brew of rum, lime juice, bitters and syrup, Shrub is a Christmas liqueur consisting of rum and orange peel, Planteur is made from rum and fruit juice, and juices of fruits like Guava, soursop, passion fruit, mandarin and sugar-cane.
Nightlife
Restaurants, bars and discos are a plenty and some displays of local dancing and music too can be found. You can also find Limbo dancers and steel bands performing in some hotels.
Martinique’s ballet group, called the Ballet Martiniquais is one of the world’s most prestigious traditional ballet companies.
The lively, two-beat local music, zouk, can be heard everywhere and Martinicans are very proud of it.
If you are looking to try your luck at a casino, there are two of them, one at de la Batelière Plazza, in Schoelcher, and there is one in the Méridien Hotel.
ACCOMMODATION
The country has a reasonably good selection of hotels and guest houses in addition there is an association of small hotels, often called Relais Créoles.
You can hire furnished apartments or bungalows called Gites and these are present all over the country.
It’s great to camp at Martinique because visitors can pitch a tent almost anywhere in Martinique: mountains, forests and most beaches.
TRAVELING AROUND THE COUNTRY
Air Martinique has aeroplanes and helicopters that visitors can charter for touring the country.
Between Fort-de-France and the main resorts, there are scheduled ferry services in place if you would prefer to travel the country through water.
If your preference is road travel then limited although inexpensive bus service is provided within the communes but most of Martinique’s public transport is served by communal taxis. The taxis are plentiful and they are Government-controlled and reasonably cheap if shared. Alternatively car hire, bicycle and mopeds are other transport facilities available.
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