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Mount Pelée. The names of some of<br />

the neighborhoods, like Canton Suisse<br />

and Beauvallon, justifiably highlight the<br />

alpine character of the landscape. You<br />

could easily forget that you’re in the<br />

middle of the Antilles! Fifteen and a<br />

half miles from Fort-de-France.<br />

Tourist Information Bureau<br />

Tel. : 0596 54 67 50<br />

Fax : 0596 55 57 60<br />

LE CARBET<br />

The town’s attractions<br />

include: the Neisson<br />

Distillery, a center of<br />

industry and culture;<br />

the Gauguin Museum;<br />

the Galerie d’Histoire<br />

et de la Mer (Gallery of<br />

History and of the Sea);<br />

the Butterfly Garden;<br />

Habitation Anse Latouche<br />

(Anse Latouche Plantation);<br />

the Musical Garden; Aqualand; a<br />

center for thalassotherapy; and the<br />

beach at Anse Turin. Le Carbet is also<br />

known as the site of Christopher Columbus’ landing<br />

in Martinique, on June 15, 1502.<br />

Sixteen miles from Fort-de-France.<br />

Tourist Information Bureau<br />

Tel. :0596 78 47 32 - Fax : 0596 78 06 54<br />

R.zebo@ool.fr<br />

FONDS-SAINT-DENIS<br />

A beautiful little town set among luxuriant greenery,<br />

Fonds-Saint-Denis offers nature-lovers the chance<br />

to hike in a tropical milieu. They can also visit nearby<br />

Morne des Cadets, home of the Observatoire<br />

Volcanologique et Sismologique de la Martinique, the<br />

center for the observation and study of Mount Pelée.<br />

Seventeen miles from Fort-de-France.<br />

Tourist Information Bureau<br />

Tel. : 0596 55 80 34 - Fax : 0596 55 86 32<br />

s.syndicat-dinit@wanadoo.fr<br />

SAINT-PIERRE<br />

Capital of Martinique before its destruction in 1902,<br />

when Mount Pelée erupted, Saint-Pierre is today<br />

the subprefecture (district capital) of the northern<br />

Caribbean region. It has been classified by the<br />

French government as a «City of Art and History. »<br />

Attractions: Centre de Découverte des Sciences de<br />

la Terre (Center of Discovery of the Sciences and of<br />

the Earth); the ruins of the theater of Saint-Pierre;<br />

the dungeon of Cyparis, the only site that survived<br />

the eruption; the ruins of the Church of the Fort; the<br />

Depaz Distillery; Musée Historique de Saint-Pierre<br />

(Historical Museum of Saint-Pierre); the old church of<br />

the port; and the Habitation Anse Latouche. Saint-<br />

Pierre is the 101st City of Art and History, and its<br />

ruins and vestiges make the town into an open-air<br />

museum. Another important attraction: the Musée<br />

Volcanologique (Volcanic Museum), the first museum<br />

created in Martinique, founded in 1933 by American<br />

volcanologist Frank Perret.<br />

Nineteen miles from Fort-de-France.<br />

Town Hall : www.saint-pierre-mq.fr<br />

LE PRECHEUR<br />

The last town along the northern<br />

Caribbean coast, and the birthplace<br />

of Madame de Maintenon, wife<br />

of King Louis XIV. Le Prêcheur<br />

is located at the entrance to<br />

Mount Pelée’s Western face,<br />

classified as a National<br />

Grand Site. The town<br />

is linked to the town of<br />

Grand-Rivière via a forest<br />

hiking trail that is popular<br />

and practicable. Nearby is<br />

the «Tomb of the Caribs.»<br />

According to legend, this<br />

is where Carib Indians once<br />

committed collective suicide.<br />

Another attraction: Habitation<br />

Céron (Céron Plantation).<br />

Twenty-five miles from Fort-de-<br />

France.<br />

Tourist Information Bureau<br />

Tel. : 0596 52 91 43 - Fax : 0596 52 92 03<br />

sipre@wanadoo.fr<br />

www.si-precheur.org<br />

MORNE-ROUGE<br />

This vacation community dots the slopes of Mount<br />

Pelée. Anyone wishing to climb this majestic<br />

mountain will be better off with a <strong>guide</strong>. Morne-<br />

Rouge is well known for its plantations of anthurium<br />

flowers and its well-regarded spring water, bottled<br />

right on the premises. This town is also a pilgrimage<br />

site well-known in Martinique: It was partly destroyed<br />

shortly after Saint-Pierre, in an eruption of Mount<br />

Pelée on August 30, 1902. Attraction: A majesterial<br />

work by French sculptor Arman, Les larmes de fonte<br />

(« The Melting Tears »), a large-scale « accumulation<br />

» that commemorates the abolition of slavery. Also<br />

worth seeing: Maison du Volcan (Volcano House) and<br />

Jardins de la Pelée (a botanical garden).<br />

Nineteen miles from Fort-de-France.<br />

Office of Tourism<br />

Tel. : 0596 52 38 50 - Cell : 0696 22 92 97<br />

Fax : 0596 52 54 63<br />

Otc.mr@wanadoo.fr<br />

DISCOVER<br />

43

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