Terre de Haut

Terre de Haut can be visited in a day by scooter. A trip which will spoil you with fantastic views including the Pain de Sucre, the beaches and the Fort. Terre de Haut's town centre is also very pleasant to visit.
Despite the daily invasion of tourists to the town it has none the less retained its’ charm as a typical fishing village, with its wooden houses and local church constructed from local volcanic stone.

Fort Napoleon

Located on the mire at 114m, the fort can be reached on foot in 20 minutes, (With a steep incline,) or by scooter. It overlooks Les Saintes, and its famous bay.
Fort Napoleon was constructed between 1844 and 1897 on the ruins of an existing fort, Fort Louis, which was destroyed by the English in 1809.
It hosted a garrison until 1889 without ever knowing enemy fire, the fort became a jail and served as a detention centre for political prisoners during the second world war.
Eventually abandoned, the restoration of the fort was undertaken in 1980 and today the fort is a museum dedicated to the history and traditions of Les Saintes and the Anglo-French naval battles to which it’s coastline bears witness.
The exotic garden inside the grounds of the fort, planted in 1984, showcases the diversity of flora found in Les Saints. Visitors will be amazed by the cactus collection and entertained by the Iguanas which roam the park.

Internet Site: www.fort-napoleon.com
Tel. 0590 610151. Open daily from 9am to 12,30. From July till August the fort remains open until 15,00.
Closed: 25 December, 1° January, 1° May, 27 May and 15-16 August.
Entry Fee: 6 Euros

Terre de Bas

Terre de Bas is connected with Terre de Haut by a ferry service, and can be visited in a half-day. It is a very quiet fishing island. There are a few restaurants and several sleeping options.
Terre de Bas has a shuttle bus service connecting the port of Anse Muries and the village of Petites Anses to the south. Petites Anses still maintains its traditional village atmosphere with her modest houses, a church and cemetery.
From the port you can proceed by foot to Grande Anse, where you will find the only, yet beautiful beach on the island. Approximately a 30 minute walk.
About 15 minutes further by foot you will reach Grande Baie, not particulary impressive as a bay, but notable for the ruins of a antique furnace on the shore.

After the earthquake that devastated Les Saintes in November 2004, the choice of accommodation is limited almost entirely to Terre de Haut. There are some guest house options at Terre de Bas, best to get informed at the tourist office at Terre de Haut.
The hotels costs vary between 70 and 300 euros a night depending on season and room type.
Bungalows, holiday homes and apartments are numerous, as on all the islands of the French Antilles, make reservations well in advance, not good for last minute holiday makers.
One way to be immersed in the reality of Les Saintes and save on accommodation costs is to find a room or apartment from a local Saintois who often rent to holiday makers.
Prices start from 30 Euros for a room, for a bungalow budget at least 50 Euros a night.

 Pain de Sucre

A small bay with coconut palm trees and crystal clear waters, ideal for snorkelling. You can reach on foot by following the signs to Anse Crawen, pass the junction for Chameau and approx 500mt on your right you will see a small path that takes you down to the sea.

Pompierre

Protected from the Atlantic by the Ilet Roche Percees, the Plage de Pompierre is a white sandy beach bordered by palm trees and sea grape trees under which you can find picnic tables & shelters. Very popular beach with several snack bars and restaurants in the area. Tourment d’amour sellers and cold drink vendors, at the beach’s entrance.

Grande Anse - Terre de Haut

A long beach of approx 1 km. Swimming how-ever is forbidden because of the strong currents. Although ideal for kite surfing.

Fond du Curé - Plage de la Colline

A white sanded beach, south of the hamlet and only a short distance from the town centre. It is dotted with palm trees has a restaurant, bar and dive centre.

Anse Crawen
A dark sanded beach with rocks. It is defined as a nudist beach, but we found no evidence of such. Also to bare in mind that nudism is forbidden on Les Saintes!

Anse du Figuier
A wide wild beach with dark sand just in front of Grand Ilet.

Grande Anse - Terre de Bas

The only beach at Terre de Bas. It gets it’s name from the hamlet of Grande Anse and is only 10 minutes away from the landing pier. It’s white sanded and there are a few bars and restaurants near by.

Ilet à Cabri

In front of the hamlet of Terre-de-Haut, an island whose only inhabitants are iguanas and goats. It was military owned up to the 20th century. It has been used as prison and previously a leprosy hospital. There are the remains of Fort de Josephine that was built in 19th century on top of the ruins of a previous stand-post.
It is an ideal island for snorkelling and can be reached by boat.
 

For divers Les Saintes have some very beautiful spots such as Le Paté-Sec, one of the flagship spots in the Caribbean. Numerous divers come to Les Saints just to dive this site. It has a under water marine mountain which is 185 meters high, which peaks at -15 Three pitons.
The Aquarium is an extraordinary dive with its underwater canyons and faults, which are brimming with marine flora, a real unerwater true life aquarium.

Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493, Les Saintes were occupied by the French in 1648 but the settlers didn't rest long as the island has no fresh water sources. Because of their strategic location they where witness to many a naval battle. The British conquered the area in 1782 after a terrible battle. In 1816 Les Saintes returned to Franch ownership and divided into the two councils, Terre de Haut and Terre de Bas, the first dry and arid, the second with a more luxuriant vegetation.
The Saintois, are of Breton fishermen decent, are mostly white. As their ancestors where fishermen their was no use in importing a slave workforce, Slaves were only used in only in the small pottery of Grande Baie and for the plantations of cotton, indigo and cafe in Terre de Bas, which held a mere hundred slaves.
The Saintois are recognized across the Guadeloupe as skilled ship builders. The sailing boats are light, fast and 10 meters long, they are called Saintoises.
 

Salakos's are typical hats used by the fisherman of Les Saintes. Of Asian origin and imported by Chinese workers who came to Les Saintes to replace the slaves working in the pottery, these hats were latter adopted by the Saintois for seafaring. Now not so much in general use, you can still see and buy them at Terre de Bas, La Maison de l'Artisanat, in Grande Anse.