Experience the best of Grande-Terre

Grande-Terre is the eastern half of Guadeloupe's butterfly shape, a low limestone island of cane fields and rolling hills. The main city, Pointe-à-Pitre, sits on the water where the two halves meet; its Mémorial ACTe tells the story of slavery and the Caribbean, and its market stalls sell spices, rum and madras cloth. Le Gosier, to the east, has an eighteenth-century fort, Fort Fleur d'Épée, above the bay.

The south coast has the calm beaches of Sainte-Anne and Saint-François, and the Pointe des Châteaux, a rocky headland at the eastern tip, is topped by a cross with views to Marie-Galante and La Désirade. In the north, the Pointe de la Grande Vigie has high cliffs, and the Porte d'Enfer is a sheltered cove cut into the rock. Le Moule attracts surfers, and rum distilleries lie among the cane fields.

Creole cooking runs to accras, fried salt-cod fritters, colombo curries, boudin créole and grilled lobster or conch, and ti' punch, rum with lime and cane syrup, is poured before dinner. French is spoken alongside Creole. The weather is warm all year, with the driest months from January to May and the heaviest rain from July to November.