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Marigot
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Marigot : capital of the French side
Fort Louis : Built in 1765 to protect Marigot from the English, this historic site offers an exceptional 180° view of Marigot, Simpson Bay, the lagoon, Anguilla, Marigot Bay, and Nettlé Bay up to the Terres Basses.
From the waterfront, at the top of the West Indies Mall, you will see the end of the canons. To get to Fort Louis, take the path that starts in front of the sub-prefecture building.
The Market : fruit, vegetables, fish, spices, and crafts are on sale every day. Walk through the streets of Marigot, and admire the traditional Creole architecture.
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Pic Paradis
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The highest point of the island: 424m
On the road to Grand Case, halfway between Marigot and Grand Case, road signs point the way to Pic Paradis. At the end of the road you will find a marked trail. At the top you will be rewarded by a 360° panoramic view of Saint Martin and the neighbouring islands.
On the way to Pic Paradis, on your right, do not miss the Lottery Farm.
Within its mountain landscapes and its rain forest, the Lottery Farm shelters thousands of plant species, all with dream names: mahogany, corossol, mango tree, papaw tree, guavaberry tree, as well as medicinal plants. Many animal species are there too: iguanas, humming birds, monkeys, mongoose, parrots.
Far from the sometimes electric atmosphere of the beaches and from the daily activity which prevails on the island, to the visitor who enters this exceptional place it feels like “paradise regained”.
There, everything is different: the scents, the sounds or rather the silences, the luxuriant vegetation.
Some will be stirred by the spiritual vibrations which prevail at Lottery Farm. These vibrations are carefully maintained by B.J the owner, who respects the memory of the three hundred slaves who, in the 1720s, worked here on the sugar cane plantations.
B.J. took over the site with one objective: to protect this place from any human activity which could damage it or disturb its peace. Only a wooden “carbet”, at the starting point of the walk, houses a restaurant where hikers can relax or eat, at lunch time, from Tuesday to Sunday and at dinner time from Tuesday to Saturday. In high season, on Saturdays and Sundays, jazz bands accompany the aperitif hour.
Tree-top adventure trail: at Lottery Farm
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Grand Case
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A small, typically Creole village, by the sea, lined with gourmet and local restaurants and arts and crafts boutiques. From January to May, on Tuesdays, the “Mardis de Grand Case” or Harmony Night festival, features brass bands and Caribbean music, to whose rhythm you can discover the local crafts, and enjoy local or gourmet cuisine in a festive, family and convivial atmosphere.
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The Mont Vernon Plantation
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The Mount Vernon Plantation: on the way to Orient Bay, will transport you back to the Caribbean of yesteryear. On more than two hectares of a magnificent park, among plantations of cotton, coffee, manioc, tobacco, corn, sugar cane and spice gardens, you will discover the secrets of rum production, the art of coffee roasting, and the mysteries of indigo. Enjoy a trip to the past, far from the agitation of this third millennium, and take the first steps towards discovering the knowledge of our ancestors.
View Point at the top of Orient Bay:
Magnificent 180° view point over Orient Bay, le Galion, St Barth’s, Pinel, and Tintamarre
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The Butterfly farm
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The Butterfly Farm : le Galion
A visit to the Butterfly Farm is one of the most enchanting experiences on the island.
The specially created Butterfly Sphere contains a beautiful landscaped garden, a waterfall, ponds with Japanese fish and soothing music.
As you walk through this tranquil atmosphere some of the most spectacular butterflies from all over the world will be flying around you, laying eggs and performing courting dances.
Early every morning it is possible to watch the butterflies actually emerging from their chrysalis to take their first flight.
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Visit the Hold house
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Visit the Old House : on the road to Quartier d’Orléans.
In a naturally breezy country setting, the OLD HOUSE invites you to a journey back in time through two distinct yet nevertheless perfectly complementary museum collections.
The visitor first discovers the interior of the old sugar plantation house, in which the living room and the bedroom of the planter have been restored to their original aspect to recreate the atmosphere of the era. Period furniture, family portraits, souvenirs and collections of personal objects have been carefully preserved for six generations.
Integrated into this traditional family ambiance, another part of the sugar plantation takes us back to the great adventure of rum in the Caribbean and its fame in the rest of the world whose history it helped to shape: the voyages of Christopher Columbus, the great era of piracy, life on the sugar plantations, the catastrophe of the Montagne Pelee eruption (Martinique), times of war, the quest for dominance in the West, the prohibition era etc… Not to mention the showcases illustrating the history of rum through its advertising over the years.
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Oyster Pond
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Stop between the mangrove and the coral reef to walk on the island of shells.
Explore the mangrove in a canoe.
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Zoo
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Sint Maarten Park
More than one hundred and fifty animals of eighty different species from the Amazonian jungle live in relative liberty in the safari reserve. The visit will take you on a walking tour through lush and dense vegetation that intensifies the impression of being in a tropical forest.
The variety of reptiles, hidden in the marsh, will delight both adults and children. In the Sint Maarten Park, you will find many leisure activities: painting competitions, puppet shows, the possibility to play with and get close to the reptiles. Each week, there is a new activity program offered in the park.
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Philipsburg
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Capital of the Dutch side, Philipsburg accommodates the largest cruise ships such as the Queen Mary II. In its main street, the many and varied shops offer jewellery, electronics and souvenirs.
By the sea, a boardwalk lined with restaurants and bars, offers the ideal spot from which to enjoy a spectacular sunset.
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