Family history

Martinique is slightly different from the other stories on these maps.

Because this map doesn’t represent one trip.

It combines seven.

I first travelled to Martinique as a child, in 1996.

My grandparents had bought an apartment in Sainte-Luce for their retirement, and for many years I returned to the island regularly.

At the age of eight, I even took my first flight on my own to go and visit them.

The most recent of those trips was in 2015, this time with Sandrine.

So what you see here is less a real itinerary than a combination of almost twenty years of memories.

But to tell the story, we can still imagine one large loop around the island.

Hiking in the north of Martinique

We begin in Fort-de-France.

The centre contains several of the city’s best-known landmarks: Saint-Louis Cathedral, the Schœlcher Library, the covered market and Fort Saint-Louis beside the harbour.

From Trois-Îlets, you can also reach Fort-de-France by passenger ferry, which has one major advantage: avoiding the traffic and the search for somewhere to park.

From the capital, the route heads north along the Caribbean coast.

Saint-Pierre sits in a spectacular location beneath Mount Pelée, but the city’s history is much darker.

In 1902, it was almost completely destroyed by the eruption of the volcano.

Further north, you reach Anse Céron and Anse Couleuvre.

Here the coastline becomes wilder and the beaches turn black because of the island’s volcanic geology.

Then the route leaves the coast and heads into the mountains.

Mount Pelée rises to almost 1,400 metres, and several trails lead towards the summit.

Suddenly, the classic Caribbean image of beaches and palm trees disappears.

You’re walking through tropical forest and cloud, and temperatures near the top can feel surprisingly cool.

And Mount Pelée isn’t the only place to hike in the north.

There is the Trace des Jésuites through the rainforest, the Canal des Esclaves near Le Carbet, the walk to Cascade Couleuvre and the Gorges de la Falaise.

Martinique’s Atlantic coast

Crossing to the Atlantic side changes the landscape once again.

The Caravelle Peninsula is a good summary of this coast: hiking trails between shoreline and mangrove, the ruins of Château Dubuc, the lighthouse and the Baie du Trésor.

Further south are the shallow waters that characterise much of the Atlantic coast.

From Le François, boats head towards the famous Baignoire de Joséphine.

At Le Vauclin, you can sometimes walk a surprisingly long way out to sea with the water barely reaching your knees.

And at Le Robert, kayaks can be rented to explore the bay and some of its small islands, including Îlet Chancel.

The Atlantic side is also more exposed to the trade winds, which makes it particularly good for sailing, windsurfing and other water sports.

The most beautiful beaches in Martinique

Continuing south brings you to Sainte-Anne and one of Martinique’s classic postcard views: Les Salines.

Pale sand, palm trees and turquoise water.

But only a short distance away, the landscape changes completely again at the Savane des Pétrifications, a much drier and almost lunar area.

Visiting distilleries in Martinique

The route then begins travelling back north along the southern Caribbean coast.

A little further on, Anse Figuier is ideal for snorkelling.

It is also home to the Écomusée de la Martinique, located on the site of a former distillery.

And rum is impossible to separate from the history and landscape of Martinique.

Distilleries can punctuate an entire tour of the island.

Trois Rivières in Sainte-Luce, with its distinctive windmill; La Mauny in Rivière-Pilote; Habitation Clément at Le François; or Saint-James further north.

They are not simply places for tastings.

You can discover the sugar-cane plantations, old estates, ageing cellars and the process used to make agricultural rum.

The south of Martinique

Sainte-Luce is inevitably an important stop for me, because this is where my grandparents lived.

A coastal path allows you to walk for several kilometres from beach to beach without returning to the main road.

At Corps de Garde, there are also kayaks and various water activities.

Continuing west brings us to Le Diamant.

The famous rock rises directly offshore, while on the hillside the Anse Caffard memorial recalls the history of slavery.

Further north come Les Anses-d’Arlet and two beaches located almost back-to-back.

Anse Dufour has pale sand.

Anse Noire, as its name suggests, has black volcanic sand.

Sandrine was lucky enough to see a turtle there.

I was not.

Finally, around Trois-Îlets, it’s possible to kayak into the mangrove from the pottery village, visit the Maison de la Canne or the Savane des Esclaves, before closing the loop and returning towards Fort-de-France.

And this variety probably explains those seven trips.

Martinique can look like an island of beaches and palm trees if you stay in the south.

But within an hour’s drive, you can move from white sand to black sand, from turquoise water to tropical forest, from a rum distillery to a volcano, or from mangrove channels to the middle of Fort-de-France.

So this isn’t really the map of a road trip.

It’s the map of seven trips to Martinique, laid on top of one another.