Beloved among the Euro set as a beach and foodie heaven, très chic Martinique has begun to lure visitors with a slew of new hotel and restaurant developments.
But when Martinique finds something that works, it embraces it. Perhaps that's why the St. Louis Cathedral in the capital of Fort-de-France was rebuilt to the same specifications six times on the same site. Or why the Schoelcher Library was taken apart following the Paris Exposition of 1889 and put back together piece by piece on-island. Or why reproductions of Gauguin's oils done here fill a namesake museum in Le Carbet.
HISTORY
If not for Columbus' determination to find the Indian Ocean, he would not have come upon Martinique. In 1502, on his final voyage, he spied the 425-square-mile island he was to name after the patron saint of France. It was Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, however, who defied the Caribs and established the first settlement in 1635. Except for three spells of British occupation, France has continuously ruled the island. In 1946, it became a department of France. Twenty-eight years later, it became a region.
Beyond its cultural and political history, though, volcanic Martinique is perhaps best known for its geological past. In 1902, Mont Pelée erupted in a period of pyroclastic activity that destroyed the thriving city of St. Pierre and ultimately claimed the lives of nearly all of the 28,000 residents who called it home.
DON'T MISS
– Touring La Pagerie, childhood home of Napolean Bonaparte's wife Josephine
– Sifting through the eerie ruins of St. Pierre at the basin of Mont Pelée
– Basking in the serenity of Ceron, a 17th-century plantation surrounded by an immense floral garden
