Saint-Pierre (Martinique)

Saint-Pierre is the former capital of the island of Martinique, nowadays a community of about 5,000 people.

Understand


The then capital of Martinique was destroyed in three minutes in an eruption of the nearby volcano of Mount Pelée on May 8, 1902. Around 30,000 people perished. Today the town practically consists of two one-way streets, and little is reminiscent of the eruption.



See


The harbourfront has been restored. The vegetable market is right by the sea. Slaves used to be traded there. The former customs house with a fig tree in the middle (Anciens Entrepôts, Rue Bouillé) is only a few steps away.

Before you reach the river you can see the ruins of an Ursuline convent. At Rivière Roxelane there is a pillar bridge over the river.

There is a monument by Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc there. On the other side you can see the old stone bridge from 1766. If you go a little further, you will reach the columns and remains of the walls of the first church, which was built on the island in 1640.

On the second one-way street you pass the old prison and the remains of the theatre, which once provided space for 800 spectators. The museum is just a few meters further on the other side of the street.
 * Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption de Saint-Pierre IMG 0872C.JPG
 * The Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption from 1654 is in the southern district of Le Mouillage. The facade survived the volcanic eruption undamaged up to the cornices. Most of the collapsed nave was rebuilt using material from the former church from the 18th century.
 * Battery of Sainte-Marthe.
 * Bureau du Génie et des Ponts et Chaussées ou ancien asile, Rue Levassor. Ruins of buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries.
 * Cachot de Siparis, Rue de la Prison. Former prison.
 * Cimetière du Fort. Former cemetery.infoto edit
 * Habitation perrinelle. Archaeological excavations.
 * Asile Bethléem Hospice, Rue Abbé-Gosse at Rue de la Raffinerie. The ruins of the chapel with the tomb of the clergyman Gosse.

Do

 * Scuba dive at wrecks in the harbor. During the 1902 volcanic eruption, all but one of the ships in the harbour sunk, including large four-masters. 13 of them can be explored by divers in shallow water as coral-overgrown remains.



Connect

 * Police, Sub-Prefecture.
 * La Poste (Post office), Rue Victor Hugo at Rue du Général de Gaulle..

Banks

 * Credit Agricole, Rue Victor Hugo.
 * Credit Martiniquais, Rue Victor Hugo. . Open: M–F 08:00–12:00, 14:30–16:30