It might not be Guadeloupe’s capital (that distinction goes to Basse-Terre) but Pointe-à-Pitre is the island’s biggest city and arguably its cultural centre, with the highest concentration of museums, restaurants and bars.

It’s also close to the airport and ferry terminal, so it’s likely the city you’ll arrive in when first coming to Guadeloupe (it definitely was for us). Even if you’re itching to continue on to Guadeloupe’s famous beaches and mountains, I recommend spending at leasta few hours in town to check out the sights.

Here’s everything you need to know about visiting Pointe-à-Pitre.

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The Best Things to See in Pointe-à-Pitre

The heart of town is the Place de la Victoire, which is a good spot for orientation, so I’ll use it to explain the directions to the other sights in this post. It’s also worth having a walk along the roads around the square, as there are some pretty cool murals on a lot of walls and houses.

Place de la Victoire and Fish Market

We found the city’s central square to be quite pretty, mostly because there are lots of trees and it’s a nice place to sit and watch the world go by for a bit. There are also several fountains, small monuments and sculptures of local military dignitaries, and a colourful gazebo to check out.

The southern end of Place de la Victoire is located close to the harbour La Darse and there’s a big lively fish and produce market from Monday to Saturday. As usual, it’s best to come early in the day, if you want to see it in action.

Cathedrale de Saint Pierre et Saint Paul

Pointe-à-Pitre’s pretty Cathedral dominates the Place de L’Eglise, where a flower market took place when we were there. The current building mostly dates to the mid-19^th century, but thanks to the historicist style it looks much older.

The interior was a bit of a let-down for us compared to the façade. It’s rather plain and as the cathedral was repeatedly damaged in earthquakes, the nave now has some functional, but not very pretty steel reinforcements supporting the roof.

The ostentatious building facing the cathedral is the Palais de Justice (Central Courthouse). The cathedral is one block west from the northern end of the Place de la Victoire. There’s no entrance fee.

Central Market (Marché Saint-Antoine)

The city’s central market has lots of stalls selling fruit, vegetables and spices and is a good spot to have a chat with some locals (or to just watch people go about their daily business). Like the fish market, it’s busiest in the mornings, when the fresh produce comes in.

The market hall dates to the 1870s and the little square in front has a cool little fountain topped by a sculpture of a woman carrying her wares on her head in the traditional fashion. It’s two blocks west from the south-western end of Place de la Victoire.

Saint-John Perse Museum

This is a small museum about the life and work of the Lesser Antilles’ first Nobel Laureate, the poet Alexis Léger, who is better known as Saint-John Perse.

There’s no English signage and I thought the way it’s presented was a bit dry, so I wouldn’t go out of my way to visit it, but it’s worth checking out, if you have half an hour to kill. The best part for me was the chance to peek into the beautifully restored late 19^th-century creole mansion that it’s housed in.

The Villa Souques-Pagès used to belong to a wealthy local sugar merchant and is one of the more attractive buildings in central Pointe-à-Pitre. The museum is one block south and one block west of the south-western corner of the Place de la Victoire. The entrance fee is 2.50€ and you can check the opening times here.

Mémorial ACTe Slavery Museum and Other Nearby Sights

Pointe-à-Pitre’s famous slavery monument and museum was unfortunately closed when we were in town. It’s housed in a modern glass-and-steel building some 10 minutes by foot south of Place de la Victoire on the eastern side of the harbour.

Fittingly, it’s located on the grounds of a former sugar factory, where countless locals were exploited by slave labour. The entrance fee seems quite steep with 15€, but the building is huge and people online say it’s well worth visiting. You can check the current opening times here.

On the way there, close to the Gare Routière de Darboussier, we noticed a haunting mural, which depicts a massacre perpetrated on striking workers by the police on May 26th 1967.

Museum Schœlcher, the former domicile of a local senator and abolitionist was another museum, which was unfortunately closed when we were in town. It’s four blocks west of the southwestern edge of Place de la Victoire along Rue Peynier. The entrance fee is 4€.

Map of Pointe-à-Pitre

You can find all the sights mentioned above in this map of Pointe-à-Pitre.

Practicalities

How to Get to Pointe-à-Pitre

Guadeloupe’s international airport is located about 5km north of the city centre and can be reached by using the local city bus lines AE1 and AE3. If you arrive or depart late at night you can either use one of many taxis making their rounds or, if you’re a little crazy (like we are) and your bags aren’t too heavy, you can actually walk there, which takes about an hour from the centre of town.

When you plan on traveling across the island by bus, note that there are two separate overland bus stations in the city. Gare Routière de Darboussier is located about 5 minutes south of the southeastern edge of Place de la Victoire and has bus connections to places on Grande-Terre, the eastern half of the island.

Gare Routière de Bergevin is located directly to the north of the ferry terminal and the buses starting there go to destinations on Basse-Terre, the western half of Guadeloupe.

You can also travel to Guadeloupe by ferry from the nearby island of Dominica, which is a cheaper and in my opinion, much more atmospheric way than flying. You can read everything you need to know about that in my guide here.

How to Get Around

A local bus network runs all over the city and up to the airport. It stops at most of the places I mentioned, including Place de la Victoire, the Mémorial ACTe Museum and the two overland bus stations Gare Routière de Darboussier south of the centre and Gare Routière de Bergevin north-west of the centre.

The latter is also located close to the ferry terminal for Dominica and Martinique as well as Marie Galante and the Îles des Saintes.

Where to Stay in Pointe-à-Pitre

At the time of writing, there are only a handful of budget choices in the city, like the centrally located Green Hostel. Another affordable option would be Au delà de la Porte du Bonheur.

Midrange options are a bit more common and include Place de la Cathedrale Guesthouse, near the (…surprise;-) Cathedral. Appartements de luxe vue mer is one of the few top-end options in town and has some spacious apartments right next to Place de la Victoire. Check out the map below for more options.

Where to Eat in Pointe-à-Pitre

There’s no shortage of restaurants and cafés in the city, especially in the area around Place de la Victoire and the Cathedral. If you’re looking for something cheap, we liked the tasty sandwiches that are sold out of small stalls along the edges of the Place de la Victoire.

Where to Go Next

La Désirade Island, the perfect place to get away from it all

La Soufrière Volcano, to climb the highest mountain on the Lesser Antilles

The Îles des Saintes, Guadeloupe’s own little slice of paradise