Martinique Vacation

For a country that averages a major disaster every five years, including having its former capital - along with the city's 30,000 residents - destroyed by a volcano, you'd think Martinique's inhabitants would be a little nervous. Mais non, this former French colony is a beautiful, tranquil haven whose residents positively reek of cosmopolitan joie de vivre. Martinique is French with a Caribbean flair, the perfect mix of Gallic sophistication and West Indian warmth.

The island is located in the Eastern Caribbean between St. Lucia and Dominica. As a French Region, Martinique is a member of the European Union. Its trendy cities feature Paris fashion houses, cafes and fine restaurants, art galleries, theaters and museums set along bustling narrow streets. The countryside is another story. Here you'll find tropical rain forests, gentle green valleys and jaw-dropping beaches. From the mountainous north to the low-lying south, there's something for every taste imaginable.

Speaking of taste, Martinique's cuisine is world famous. It's said that great chefs come here after honing their skills in also-ran places like Paris and New York. The food on the island is an exceptional mix of fine French cuisine and Creole dishes that are often described as magical. Lunches last two hours; dinners go on all evening. There are more than 150 restaurants on this 50-mile-long island. Be sure to pick up a complimentary Ti Gourmet, an illustrated French-English guide to some 100 island restaurants. Guests who present the booklet at listed restaurants get special dining bonuses.

You could come here, settle in at a nice hotel in the capital of Fort-de-France or one of the charming smaller towns, and happily spend your time eating, shopping, wandering the picturesque streets and playing blackjack in a casino. But then you'd miss paradise. Step away from the town and watch what happens.

The land rises gradually from the coast toward the center. In the northern end you'll find the Pitons du Carbet mountains and deceptively beautiful Mont Pelée, a 4,586 ft. dormant volcano that's the highest point on the island. This part of Martinique also holds a legendary tropical rainforest. In the center of the island the Lamentin Plain, with its gently rounded hills and sheltered valleys, slopes down toward the south. The beaches at the southernmost tip of the island are postcard perfect. There's even a 600 ft. Diamond Rock off the coast where British soldiers garrisoned in 1804.

Historically, Martinique has been predominantly French. Christopher Columbus landed and named the island in 1502 but it was never formally claimed by the Spanish. At the time it was inhabited by the Carib Indians, who called the island Madinina and ran off the peaceful Arawaks in their traditionally bloodthirsty fashion. France and Britain fought over the island until 1815; France won. Slavery, as on most of the Caribbean islands the backbone of the colonial economy, was finally abolished in 1848. Sugar, cocoa and coffee were the crops they raised, and after abolition people from India and China were recruited to work the farms and add to the cultural gumbo.

Martinique's luminaries have included Napoleon's Empress Josephine, who was born in the small town of La Pagerie, and the artist Paul Gauguin, who lived in the village of Le Carbet for a while before moving back to France to get that weird gift from Vincent Van Gogh. Both towns house museums to honor their famous former inhabitants. Although perhaps more infamous than famous, according to Wikipedia "in 1984 26 youths lost their virginity on the island. They celebrated."

So you can eat, drink and make merry in the towns. You can swim, snorkel and sail in the crystalline waters. You can hike, bike and cruise the verdant inland and stunning coastline. There are numerous pretty towns and villages to explore, scenic routes to drive, shipwrecks to scuba, breathtaking beaches to remember forever.

There's a restaurant on every corner and at many of the beaches. Check the local newspaper, France-Antilles, for listings of dozens of nighttime musical events and venues. Distilleries abound and all of them welcome you to sample their products: white rum, old rum, and liqueurs made from coconut, passion fruit and oranges. Botanical gardens abound. The Schoelcher Library in Fort-de-France is a Byzantium edifice first built in Paris for the Exhibition of 1889, then dismantled and shipped to Martinique. There the whole building was re-assembled in 1893, luckily not in the then-capital of Saint-Pierre, because on May 8, 1902 Mount Pelée blew and instantly wiped out that city and everything in its path of boiling hot lava.

Today, Saint-Pierre houses the Museum of Vulcanology, which has a collection of relics that were transformed by the horrific volcanic heat. The town has rebuilt itself, with a beautiful seafront promenade along its harbor, lined with sidewalk cafes. Known for its clear waters, Saint-Pierre attracts divers exploring its wrecks and underwater gardens. Those French know how to make lemonade out of lemons, non?

By the way, if you don't speak French you might want to bring along an English-French dictionary or phrase book. The better-known restaurants, clubs and bars have menus in English, but many of the smaller places don't. Likewise, the staff at local hotels and shops may prefer not to bother with English. French is the predominant language of Martinique and, like their Parisian cousins, the inhabitants don't always like speaking English, even though they usually can.

Martinique lives up to its image of being a little bit of France in the Caribbean. There's a distinctly French feeling in the excellence of its cuisine, the beauty of its language and the sophistication of its shops. Yet Martinique has a special cachet all its own, with a West Indian warmth in the spice of its music and dance, its local dishes, and its way of life. This is an island with a style all its own. Damn the volcanoes: full speed ahead.

Map of Martinique