Terre de Haut

Terre de Haut can be visited in a day by scooter. A trip which will spoil you with fantastic views including Pain de Sucre, the beaches, the Fort.
Its very pleasant to also visit the town of Terre de Haut, principal center of Les Saintes.
Despite the unwelcome daily invasion of tourists to the town it none the less retains
its’ charming fishing village atmosphere with wooden houses and a church constructed from local volcanic stone.
 

Fort Napoleon

Situated on the Mire promontory at 114m altitude, the fort cyan be reached in 20 minutes by foot (steep incline) or by scooter. This position overlooks Les Saintes, and her famous bay.

Fort Napoleon was constructed between 1844 and 1897 on the ruins of an existing fort, Fort Louis, destroyed by the English in 1809.
Having hosted a garrison until 1889 without ever knowing enemy fire, the fort became a jail and served as a detention center 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, created in 1984, represent 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 every day from 9am to 12,30,in July and August the fort remains open until 15,00.
Days in which the first is closed: 25 December, 1° January, 1° May, 27 May and 15-16 August.
Entry Fee:6 euro

Terre de Bas

 Terre de Bas is connected with Terre de Haut by a ferry service, and can be visited quickly in a half-day. It is a very quiet island, dedicated to fishing. There are a few restaurants and some accomodation options.
Landfall at Terre de Bas, a shuttle bus service connects 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 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 the antique furnace on the shore.
 

After the earthquake that devastated Les Saintes in November 2004, the choice of housing is restricted almost entirely to Terre de Haut. There remains some proposals chez l'habitant on Terre de Bas, please inform the office of tourism of Terre de Haut.
The hotels have prices that vary between 70 and 300 euros a night depending on season and type of room.
Proposals for bungalows, houses and apartments are numerous, even if, as on all the islands of the French Antilles, but reservations made well in advance, limit the choice of those who, like us Italians, choose the destination of the holidays ... a little 'late .. .
One way to be immersed in the reality of Les Saintes and save for sleeping accommodation is seeking from Saintois who rent rooms or apartments.
Prices from 30 euros, for a bungalow counted at least 50 euros a night.
 

Arriving in Les Saintes is always an intense occasion, the landscape that opens before us from the ship’s upper bridge is nothing short of magnificent, and as we pass Terre de Haute we are dazzled by the third most beautiful bay in the world. We never tire of returning to Les Saintes. Today we have an appointment with the owner of Lo Bleu Hotel who has offered to take us on a tour of this magnificent property.Landfall meets us with the confusion of day-trippers, Santois (locals of Les Saintes) returning home to family and friends, casual onlookers and touts offering Scooter hire. Surpassing this moment of madness we cross the town square and make our way through the village if Terre De Haut. A few hundred meters along the coast road, shops, excursion and tour offices as well as a variety of restaurants nestle amongst the residential properties maintaining the sense of Caribbean calm we find the Lo Bleu Hotel. The hotel has an ideal position, close to the town centre and on the sea front! The welcome is truly warm and generous and as you pass through the main hall of the hotel you are lead out onto a veranda which offers an unparalleled view of the bay, l'ilet Cabrit and in the distance la Soufrière to Basse Terre which we left behind no more than two hours ago. The rooms, all pleasantly decorated in themes by local artists and comfortably furnished, are designed to host 2 to 4 guests. All have air conditioning, cable TV and private telephone. Some of the rooms face seaward whilst others are overlooking the village and hillside.
Returning to the verandah we sample a fresh fruit cocktail before being seated at our table. The hotel’s restaurant , "The Taranga", offers and exquisite menu! After a fabulous lunch of freshly caught fish we find that its time to leave the hotel….we should have organized a stay of at least a few nights to truly soak up the unique experience of Les Saintes and the hospitality of the charming Lo Bleu Hotel.

visit the site!

 Pain de Sucre

A small bay with coconut palm trees and crystal clear waters, ideal for snorkling. You can reach it by foot....follow for Anse Crawen, pass the junction for Chameau, approx 500mt a path on the right 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 treas and raisinier under where you can find huts and picnic tables. Very popular...there are also snack bars and restaurants in the area. Tourment d’amour and cold drink vendors are at the beach entrance.

Grande Anse - Terre de Haut

A long beach of approx 1 km but swimming is forbidden because of strong currents. Although ideal for kite surfing.

Fond du Curé - Plage de la Colline

A beach of white sand, south of the hamlet and only a short distance from the center of town is dotted with palm trees has a restaurant, bar and diving center.

Anse Crawen
A sandy beach with dark sand, rocks and described as a nudist beach (we didn’t think so) even though we would like to remind you 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 of the 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 of white sand and there are also a few bars and restaurants near by.

Ilet à Cabri

In front of the hamlet of Terre-de-Haut, an island that today is inhabited only by iguanas and goats. It was owned by the military up to the XX century, and used as prison and leprosy camp. There are the remains of Fort de Josephine that was built in XIX century on top of the ruins of another fort.
It is an ideal island for snorkelling and can be reached by boat
 

For divers Les Saintes reserve some very beautiful spots such as Le Paté-Sec, one of the flagship sites of all the Caribbean. Several sub Les Saints are only for this draft marina on a mountain 185 meters high, which culminates at -15 Three pitons.
The Aquarium is an extraordinary draft in canyons and faults with a marine flora from ... aquarium.

Discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1493, Les Saintes were occupied by the French in 1648 but not the settlers resisted long on these islands without water. Because of their strategic location were the subject of many naval battles with the British who in 1782 won the islands after a terrible battleIn 1816 Les Saintes return to France, were divided into two municipalities, Terre de Haut and Terre de Bas, the first dry and arid, the second with a more luxuriant vegetation.
I Saintois, people of the descendants of Breton fishermen, are mostly white skin. Devoted almost exclusively to the fishing did not need to resort to slaves., che impiegava un centinaio di schiavi. Slavery was practiced only in the small poterie of Grande Baie, the outcome of which still remains, and for the cultivation of cotton, indigo and cafe in Terre de Bas, which took a hundred slaves.
The Saintois are recognized across the Guadeloupe as skilled carpenters ship for the quality of sailing boats built, light, fast and even 10 meters long Saintoises calls.
 

Typical of Les Saintes are headgear used by the fishermen, called SALAKOS.. Of Asian origin and imported from the Chinese workers arrived at Les Saintes a half century to replace the slaves working in poterie, these special headgear were adopted by Saintois out at sea.. Now disappeared from the town, you can see and buy a Terre de Bas, craftsmen nell'atelier La Maison de l'Artisanat, a Grande Anse