The Popular West Coast
In the highways, in and out Philipsburg and Marigot, the capital of the French zone, there are usually great traffic jams. The same happens on the main highways joining Philipsburg, Simpson Bay and Marigot. The historic places around Philipsburg, are worth been visited, specially for the sights in offer; from Fort Hill you can see the city at your feet; Fort Amsterdam dominates the Great Bay from the west, the Old Spanish Fort in Point Blanche and Little Bay from the east. As can be easily deducted, due to the location of these forts, the first Dutch pioneers settled down in the sand isthmus around Little Bay, along which is the Divi Little Bay Resort.

The highway continues uphill to the top of Cole Bay, from which a wonderful view of the Simpson Bay lagoon and the neighboring islands, is possible. Furthermore, the road goes down to Simpson Bay, and the hotels and beaches in the western end of the island: the resort of Maho and Mullet is the most popular. In this zone, is the quiet Cupecoy Beach, where swimsuits are optional. Across the border is the distant Baie Longue, without any doubt, the best beach in the island that traces an arc of almost two kilometers of sand. Behind, an inclined tropical garden leads to an elegant hotel, La Samanna.

Marigot, a Painting of Southern France
In contrast with the vulgar commercial nature of Philipsburg, Marigot looks more European and Caribbean at the same time; more attractive, colorful and equally noisy. More than a painting of southern France, Marigot looks like a portrait of that region, especially the morning market of fruits and green vegetables (best days are Wednesdays and Saturdays) next to the dock. Is a city open to the sea and, in contrast with the capital of the Dutch zone, the dock invites for a peaceful walk among cafes, bars and restaurants. If you prefer, you can also contemplate the square market from La Vie en Rose, where you can taste an excellent coffee. From this place, a walk of around 15 minutes, will take you to the ruins of St-Louis fort, from which you can have magnificent views of the city and the island of Anguilla, 8 km. far away.

If you want to go shopping, the Rue de la Republique and the Marina Port La Royale malls are full of duty free shops, and the most elegant boutiques of the city. Thursday’s nights in Marigot, you can feel the carnival atmosphere, shops close very late, restaurants are full of clients, and on the streets you can hear the music played by the bands. Those too busy to sit down at a table, can go to one of the many lolos (food stands) around the city, and buy an appetizer prepared in the barbecue.

Ironically, most of the natives have their siesta (sleeping after lunch) from 14:00 to 15:00 h. The little Archaeological Museum (open from Monday to Friday; entrance fee), behind the sporting port, is closed at noon.

Towards the Hills
West of Marigot are a series of resorts and malls along the coast, north of the lagoon. You can’t say that beaches at the Nettle harbor, are the best, but are situated in an interesting zone. The highway leaving Marigot to the north, passes next to the central hills, were is a circuit of paths for walking, and watchtowers that dominate the wonderful Caribbean landscape; many paths lead to the top of Pic du Paradis, through an exuberant forest, where colorful birds live. The fields around Grand-Case, at the north, were, in the XVIII century, sugar cane plantations, some of them on top of the hills. But this ended in 1848, after slavery was abolished on the French side, and 15 years later, south of the border.

Grand-Case, the Gastronomic Capital
The little city of Grand-Case is a colorful place with more than twenty restaurants, some art galleries, and of course, a wonderful beach. At the maritime boulevard you’ll find lots of restaurants offering dishes from all parts of the world.

South of Grand-Case is the harbor of Friar, a precious golden sand cove, where the sun seems to shine in a different manner. The road going east surrounds the southern part of Salt Pond, where numbers of birds live, and follows through a wavy landscape and the waters of the Cul-de-Sac mangrove swamps. From here, a ship will take you, in less than 5 minutes, to Ilet Pinel, an empty island where you can swim, dive, or drink something in one of the beautiful corners. From Cul-de-Sac, a highway goes to Anse Marcel, a place much favored by navigation lovers. Here is Le Meridien, a huge resort, a commercial center and lots of shops renting boats.

Integral Bronze
Along the swollen eastern Atlantic sea coasts, are some beaches, very popular among wind surfers. Also very popular are the cock fights. Baie Orientale is a nudist center, the Club Orient, where in a famous nudist beach, you can get an integral bronze. At sunset, the reggae and calypso bands play their joyful music.

On the western margin of the Etang aux Poissons (lake fish), is the Ferme aux Papillons (butterfly farm; open daily, entrance fee), a farm where you can see a fascinating collection of butterflies; you better visit it in the morning, when the butterflies are more active. Following south, is Orleans. This colony, the oldest on the island, was the capital of the French zone of St-Martin till 1768, though from that time, the only testimony remaining is that of the graves and duels field. Roland Richardson, the artist, lives here and his studio is open to public on Thursdays. Richardson also owns an art gallery in the old mairie (city hall) of Marigot, a colonial building restored with that purpose.

Going south are the beaches of Oyster Pond, with reefs attracting many submarine fans. This is a wild coast where wind whips the shrubs and cactus, as the one called Pope’s Head, that grow at the harbor of Guana, which name comes from the iguanas that used to live there. A traditional tour, round the island, used to end in a kind of salad water geyser in Devil’s Cupper, but it vanished as an outcome of the massive construction, that took place in the years of the tourism boom.