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SIGHTSEEING
The Murat Plantation, with its 207 slaves, was considered in 1839 to be the largest sugar cane plantation in Guadeloupe. According to the legend, it was Jeanne Laballe, a fine arts student and wife of Dominique Murat, who made the layout of the chateau at the beginning of the 19th century.
Today it is an eco-museum of arts and traditions where on several hundreds of square meters it houses over three centuries of Guadeloupe's sugar refinery history up to the colonial age. The museum also has a center of documentation and lecture as well as a garden of medicinal plants.Section Murât 97112 Grand-Bourg // Tél. : 0590 97 94 41
Opening hours : Monday through Friday : 9h00AM-noon / 2h30-5h30PM
Free Entry
Helpful advice: Bring a camera. Go on the guided tour.
The Bezard Windmill is the first windmill in the French West Indies to have been reconstructed to its original state and returned to proper working condition. It is one of the rare mills in Marie-Galante to have benefited from modernism at the end of the 19th century in the area of sugar cane grinding. Its structure is completely metal with horizontal rollers for more efficiency.
You'll also find here many hand crafted articles displayed for sale in authentic slave cabins, that is to say of an architecture characteristic of the houses where the black workers lived. These were all lined up in a row at the bottom of the master's house located a good distance from the vegetable garden. You can still find a few samples of these houses today in the Bas region.Section Bézard 97140 Capesterre // Tel. : 0590 97 20 93
Opening hours : every day from 10h00AM to 1h00PM
Free entry
Tel. : 05 90 97 44 95
The Roussel-Trianon Plantation, today owned by the Council General of Guadeloupe, is noted for its stables which are still in very good condition, and for the smoke stack of the old sugar refinery which figures on the list of historical monuments.Access : coming from Grand-Bourg, take the National Road 2 direction Saint-Louis for 2kms. The site is at left hand.
The wind engine power plant Petite Place was put into operation in 1998. It produces electricity that is directly deposited into the reserves of EDF (French Electrics). Thanks to the trade winds 30% of the Island's electrical consumption is produced.
Section Petite Place - 97 140 Capesterre
Access : coming from Capesterre, take the hill Morne des Pères, on its top, turn left, after 3 kms, right after section Tacy, take right on the dirt road for 2 kms.
Opening hours : every day
Free entry
The association Ecolambda affords you the possibility to discover around a bio-climatic house, strolling along shady paths, the smells of resinous and woods from the West Indies, medicinal plants and a variety of local flowers. The eatable fruits from the z'oliv - byrsonirma lucida (malpihgiacee, type of the West Indies cherry very rich in vitamin C) - is used to prepare the z'oliv rum with characteristics similar to that of a cognac.
The West Indies rose is a fruit that comes from a large liana (creeper) -merremia Tuberose- (a convolvulus, from the sweet potato family). It is collected in the ravine of Bois d'Inde to make floral arrangements.
Monthly hiking tour every last Sundday of the month.Section Saragot - 97134 Saint-Louis // Tel. : 0590 97 31 80
Opening hours : only upon reservation.
Entry fee : 3,50 € / person
Helpful hints: Wear good hiking boots, bring sun block and a camera. You might appreciate purchasing a bottle of the famous z'oliv rum (it's only made in Ecolambda. Drink it in moderation!), or a bouquet of West Indies roses for your loved ones.
Cockfights are more than a simple Sunday outing where the stakes can rise to large amounts. The heart pounds, passions run wild and tempers flare during a fight. These feathered creatures are considered true athletes.
Cockfight season : from December until June, every Sunday.
Entry fee : 10 €" Le Québec "
Section Canada - 97 112 Grand-Bourg // Tel. : 0590 97 72 44" Saint-Marc "
Section Saint-Marc 97 112 Grand-Bourg // Tel. : 0590 97 96 04
For the Marie-Galantais, the ox isn't just a simple farm animal, but rather a true sportive whose hour of glory sounds at the beginning of a contest of tug of war.
Access : On the dirt roads of Morne Lolo, Canada, Vanniers, Bambara, Canada, Saint-Michel, you can follow these really "strong" events.
Contest season : from June to February
