Fort de France, Martinique. A city which is vibrant, full of character, and more than a a little bit French. Having visited many times over the years while working on Caribbean cruises, here’s my guide to exploring Fort de France, Martinique’s capital city and cruise port.
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The first time I visited Fort de France, I actually skipped the city completely, and headed straight out to le Jardin de Balata, Martinique’s answer to the Garden of Eden, high up in the mountains. It was magical, and I was instantly sold on Martinique being one of the most beautiful destinations in the Caribbean. It wasn’t until I revisited that I realised there was beauty to be found within the city limits as well.
Admittedly a less natural kind of beauty, which is more about the brilliantly chaotic streets and incredible mixture of architecture, but definitely beauty all the same.
Like its neighbour Guadeloupe, Martinique has a distinct French Caribbean personality. The official language is French, there are bakeries and coffee shops on many a street corner (in a way that just isn’t common in most other Caribbean islands), and the architecture is a distinct mixture of ornate French colonial, mixed with concrete 1960s-brutalist-looking housing, all painted in tropical colours. Smattered with spindly palm trees, chaotic street art and all the tourist markets you could ever wish for, Fort de France also feels slightly less urban than Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadeloupe’s main cruise port.
A very brief history of Fort de France
Although the French built the little colony of Fort-Royal (the city’s original name), way back in the 1600s, the neighbouring city of Saint-Pierre was a far more popular spot. In fact, so popular that Saint-Pierre was known as the Paris of the Caribbean.
A fancy name for a fancy town.
In comparison, Fort de France was rife with yellow fever, it had a pretty shoddy water supply and there were swamps left right and centre.
Everything changed in 1902 when Mount Pelée- a big bad volcano- erupted, swallowing up the entire of Saint-Pierre in the process. One of only three survivors was a man who’d happened to be spending the night in jail, which turned out was surprisingly well-protected against volcanic eruptions. PT Barnum snapped him up for the circus, and he became small-time famous as The Man Who Lived Through Doomsday, touring throughout the United States and telling his survival story.
With Saint-Pierre reduced to a crumbled up pile of ashes and rubble, all eyes turned to Fort de France. The swamps were drained to make way for housing, the water supply was fixed and yellow fever was on the out.
Yellow fever: out. Fort de France: in.
Where is the cruise terminal in Fort de France?
There are actually two ports in Fort de France, and although they’re both within walking distance of the city, one of them is a far shorter walking distance than the other!
The main cruise pier is at Pointe Simon, which is in the city centre. From here you can easily walk to the ferry stop (if you want to catch a ferry across the bay to Pointe du Bout, for example), and the city centre is also directly in front of the terminal. Walking around the city is generally very safe.
The second cruise terminal in Fort de France, which tends to be more of an overflow location, is Tourelles Cruise Port. From here it’ll take about 20 minutes to walk into the city, although there are always plenty of taxis at both ports.
Best things to do in Fort de France
Visit the Schoelcher Library
Victor Schoelcher was, by all accounts, a brilliant man. The Frenchman devoted most of his life to campaigning for the abolition of slavery, and he was vital to the abolitionist movement in France and the Caribbean colonies. (There’s a whole museum dedicated to him in Pointe-a-Pitre)
The Schoelcher Library is one wonderful building, which looks a little like an ornate oversized pastel birdcage. I love it. It was originally built in France, but then dismantled and rebuilt in Fort de France, to house the thousands of books and music scores that Schoelcher donated to the people of Martinique.
It’s possible (and free) to go inside the building, but bear in mind that it’s a fully working library. So keep the voices down.
Hit Fort de France’s city beach
Right, pals. There are many many wonderful beaches in Martinique, but if you haven’t got the time or the inclination to get out of the city, there is a little beach in the heart of town!
Plage la Française is at the foot of Fort Saint-Louis, opposite La Savane park. The little sandy beach is a great spot for a quick dip in the sea, and although there are always a few swimmers and sunbathers around, it never tends to be busy.
Eat, drink and be merry
Naturally on all your strollings around this cozily chaotic city, you might get a tad hungry or thirsty.
Bernard’s Coffee is just a simple little kiosk near the park, but for coffee in the Caribbean this place is great. (And to be completely honest, a good cup of coffee in the Caribbean is hard to come by.)
The Yellow is an eternally popular- and actually very yellow-hued- restaurant close to the main cruise pier, which serves up some delectable French Caribbean plates.
And for more authentic creole food, head to Chez Carole inside the Marche aux Epices, where Carole herself will serves up delicious home-cooked meals for her guests.
Check out the St Louis Cathedral
Martinique’s cathedral, with its skeleton of iron beams and buttresses, has led to it occasionally being referred to as a Catholic railway station. The reason for this iron framework is that the building is actually the seventh reincarnation of a place of worship on this exact same spot; Martinique has been plagued with earthquakes and volcano eruptions, so this particular cathedral needed a bit of structural support.
Visit the actual fort of Fort de France
Fort St Louis sits blockishly on top of a hill overlooking the bay- with a cruise pier on each side. As you might have guessed, the fortress wasn’t built to protect the cruise ships coming in to dock, but actually to protect the newly-formed French colony from enemy attacks back in the day. The first fort was built in 1638, although that was quickly destroyed and rebuilt.
The island- and subsequently the fort- changed hands several times over the centuries, going back and forth from the British to the French in their squabbles about who owned the land; in fact, if you go to St Lucia you can visit Pigeon Island, where Admiral George Rodney built a fort to spy on Martinique and its ships. (You can see Martinique from the highest point on the island, after a sweaty sweaty hike.)
The fort is still an active military base, and although the opening hours are limited, it’s still possible to go inside for a peek around in the form of a guided tour. Keep your eyes peeled for the green iguanas loitering around the ramparts; these scaly creatures aren’t native to Martinique, but a colony has lived inside Fort St Louis for generations, after presumably sneaking in by boat.
Discover the street art-chitecture
There’s plenty of quirky and colourful street art to be found in Fort de France, and the best way to see it is just to set off on foot and see what you stumble across around each corner. The layers of bright paint daubed across walls at the back of parking lots or on the side of shops, spice Fort de France up no end.
Sometimes just as interesting as the street art, is the quirky architecture all over the place. From the wooden houses and balconies that are reminiscent of New Orleans, to grand, ornate, French-looking buildings like the old Hotel de Ville, and bizarre concrete flats which would fit in nicely to an gritty inner-city estate if they were grey instead of bright oranges and reds; this city is a melting pot of architecture as well as people.
Best excursions from Fort de France
Martinique’s Jardin de Balata is just a twenty minute taxi ride (or half an hour or so on the bus), from downtown Fort de France. I can hand on heart say, it’s potentially the most stunning garden I’ve ever visited. There is an admission fee, but there’s no need to pre-book tickets.
Read about my experience at le Jardin de Balata here.
For another easy excursion on your own, you could catch a ferry across the bay to Pointe du Bout or Les Trois-Îlets. There are plenty of pretty beaches to be found in the area, as well as beach clubs where you can get all the cocktails and hire sun loungers. The sea is clear as crystal, so it’s a great part of the island for snorkelling. Just bear in mind that when there are lots of ships in port, the ferries can get crowded; make sure to give yourself enough time to get back to port, in case you don’t fit onto the first boat that comes along.
You can buy tickets as you board the ferry, or from the machines just in front of the ferry stop.
If you want an in-depth exploration of Martinique, your best bet is to book a private tour. This is the highest-rated half day tour which covers just about every aspect of the island. Swimming in a waterfall, visiting the cathedral, viewing the Pitons du Carbet and visiting a rum distillery are just a few of the destinations on offer, all with a local guide.
Book a half-day tour of Martinique.
Or this tour, which is slightly cheaper but has fewer stops.
