Stephen travels to Martinique all the time, but recently I had a chance to join him in visiting this overseas department of France. For the first couple days, we drove all over the island together checking out top-notch hotels, restaurants and local attractions like the La Pagerie Museum, ancestral home to Napoleon’s bride and Martinique’s sometime favorite daughter, Empress Joséphine. It was a lot of fun, but if you’ve been following us here on Uncommon Caribbean, you’ve probably noticed that Stephen and I are pretty different. Half-way through the trip we split up with Stephen sailing out to Josephine’s Bathtub (which I’m sure he’ll tell you all about at some point) while I took the ferry from Trois Ilets to Martinique’s capital city, Fort-de-France, to do a little urban exploring.

Under the heat of the Caribbean sun, Fort-de-France is a vibrant city bustling with seemingly endless energy. Around every corner are little surprises for the adventurous, inquisitive traveler to explore. In the photo gallery below, you can follow along as we make a loop through the heart of Fort-de-France. Hopefully, it’ll give you an idea of the city and help you discover even more when you pay a visit for yourself.

Of course, if you’ve already been, feel free to drop some tips on things to see in the comments.

Ok, on with the tour! Click on the first photo below to view enlarged versions of the images and read the captions. Arrows on either side of each enlarged image enable you to peruse each photo at your own pace.