Reasons to Go Beyond the Beach in Martinique

When you fly out of a Canadian winter towards Martinique’s sun-soaked coastline, it’s easy to picture yourself dipping into the island’s turquoise waters moments after your bags touch the hotel room floor. The placid Caribbean Sea is an eternal temptation for snowbirds. So there must be a good reason to deny yourself the pleasure.

Instead of hitting the beach, I spend a large part of my visit to this eastern Caribbean paradise away from its glorious beaches, and surprisingly it’s what I find inland that is truly memorable.

While the lush French island is rightly acclaimed for its stunning coastline, I quickly learn that its true essence lies with its living museums, botanical gardens and a rum tradition that is as much about celebrating the island’s heritage as it is about sipping tasty spirits.

As an overseas territory of France, the island is rife with European influences. Not only are most signs and place names in the official language of French, but the currency is the euro, and residents carry French and European Union passports. Even the cuisine blends French and Creole flavours, and it’s as easy to find croissants and café au lait as it is to sample tropical fruit and fish cakes.

It’s not surprising then that Martinque is a popular vacation spot for travellers from France and Quebec. There are direct flights to Martinique from Montreal year-round via Air Canada and Air Transat, along with seasonal flights from Toronto and Quebec City from December to April. Approximately 44,000 Canadians visited Martinique in 2024—most from Quebec although other parts of Canada are catching on, too.

For all its French connections, Martinque is still distinctly itself, and nowhere is that more apparent than at the ruins of Saint-Pierre. Once the island’s bustling capital, the city was destroyed during the eruption of Mount Pelée on May 8, 1902, when a surge of gas, ash and molten rock obliterated its infrastructure and most of its residents. The volcano is still active, although carefully monitored, and the city stands as testament to incredible resilience. Walking through the remnants of stone buildings, which are free to explore, I imagine the people who once lived there. I enter the tiny jail cell built partially underground where convict Louise-Auguste Cyparis was put in solitary confinement mere hours before the eruption—and survived.

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The Musée Frank A. Perret, which retraces the 1902 tragedy through artifacts, testimonials and photographs, is well worth a visit. For a deeper dive into Martinique’s past in an entirely unique way, the Slave Savannah (La Savane des Esclaves) is not to be missed. The open-air museum, situated just outside the tourist centre of Trois-Îlets, commemorates some 400 years of Martinican history—from early Indigenous life to colonization, slavery and the abolition. There are 25 traditional huts, some with videos and sculptures, along with bilingual panels that provide a vivid description of slave life throughout the eras.

Historian Gilbert Larose cleared most of the bush and debris on this neglected 3,000-acre site himself to create the museum and took four years to complete his vision. My self-guided tour lasted about 90 minutes but I could have easily stayed longer. It is one fascinating place.

As Martinique is known for its lush vegetation and biodiversity, I am excited to tour one of its many garden estates—Habitation Céron in Le Prêcheur did not disappoint. Built in 1658 as a plantation, the estate features a diverse tropical botanical garden. On a guided tour I was awed by the melange of tropical flowers and the majestic Zamana tree, which spans 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) across and is approximately 350 years old.

Habitation Céron is also working to rehabilitate its cocoa plantation of more than 2,000 trees and reduce its overall environmental impact. I learn about organic cocoa production, sample my first cacao seeds before they are dried (they taste surprisingly like mango), and taste chocolate made on the premises, which is divine.

From cacao, I turn my attention to one of Martinique’s other iconic crops: sugar cane. The island prides itself on being one of the few producers in the Caribbean that makes rum from pressed sugar cane juice instead of molasses. All Martinique rums are also distinguished with the AOC label, a French certification that guarantees their origin, quality, and traditional production methods.

 

In touring two distilleries, Depaz in Sainte-Pierre and St. James in Sainte-Marie, I watch copper stills transform cane juice into fragrant spirits that then mature in oak barrels to develop their flavours. I learn about the long history of rum-making on the island and, of course, sample some delicious varieties along the way. On the grounds of the Depaz Distillery, I enjoy a memorable feast at Le Moulin à Cannes, a restaurant housed in a restored sugar-cane mill. While exploring the archives at the St. James Distillery, founded 260 years ago, I glimpse a rum bottle from 1885 that remains remarkably intact.

 

I eventually make it to Martinique’s beautiful beaches. I thoroughly enjoy my stay at the seaside resort Hotel La Pagerie, followed by a visit to the all-inclusive ClubMed Buccaneer Creek on the island’s southeast tip. As a Canadian accustomed to chasing sun and surf, I’m grateful to discover that much of Martinique’s heart lies inland — in places shaped by resilience, culture, and stories that linger long after I return home.

MORE ABOUT MARTINIQUE

Martinique Tourism: Website

The author was hosted by The Martinique Tourism Authority and Air Canada. Neither organization had any input on this article nor did they review it before publication. Vacay.ca occasionally publishes articles from outside of Canada that our editors believe will be of interest to our audience. In this article, contributing writer Rosalind Stefanac gets to know Martinique and its rich culture.