Pointe-à-Pitre (Lapwent)

Pointe-à-Pitre (Lapwent)


Pointe-à-Pitre is the largest town in Guadeloupe. It was founded at the edge of the harbor in 1654 to serve as a fish market. The market along the inner harbor of La Derse, still exists nowadays. At the market you can buy island fruit, vegetables, flowers, pungent spices, handicrafts and clothing. Fresh fish can be purchased from boats along the dock.

The town boasts interesting colonial and West Indian architecture.

Points of interest
  • Pointe-à-Pitre is centered on the Place de la Victoire (Victory Square), an open space punctuated with numerous royal palms and surrounded by various bars and cafés.
  • The former Chambre de Commerce (Chamber of Commerce) currently houses the Tourist Office. The building is located in Place de la Banque. It was built in neoclassical colonial style and completed in 1927 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The building features Greek columns and gables.
  • La Darse (The Dock) served as an airfield for seaplanes bound for Europe. It also housed Guadeloupe's first gas station.
  • La Caserne des Pompiers (The Fire Station).
  • La Peinture Murale des Émeutes de Mai 1967 en Guadeloupe (The Mural Depicting the May 1967 Riots in Guadeloupe.
  • La Sculpture Sang, Chaînes; 100 Chaînes; Sans Chaîne (The sculpture Blood, Chains; 100 Chains; Without Chains) is dedicated to those who were executed on 26 May 1802 and to the workers' and union uprising of 26-27 May 1967, which was brutally suppressed. The sculpture was unveiled in 2003. It is made of stone and iron and it consists of 100 metal chains attached to a tubular structure resting on a stone base. During the day, sunlight passes through the chains and projects the silhouette of a collapsing slave onto the ground.
  • La sous-préfecture de l'arrondissement de Grande-Terre (The sub-prefecture of the Grande-Terre district.
  • Le Kiosque à Musique (The Bandstand) was erected in 1930 on the site of the Renaissance Theater and a previous bandstand that were destroyed during Hurricane Okeechobee in 1928.
  • Le Pavillon de la Ville (The City Pavilion) was built in 1845. It was formerly known as the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul rectory.
  • Les Monuments du Gouverneur Félix Éboué et du Gouverneur et Général Charles Victor Frébault (Monuments to Governor Félix Éboué and Governor and General Charles Victor Frébault).
  • L'Office de Tourisme (The Tourist Office) is housed in the former Chamber of Commerce building, which was built in neoclassical colonial style.
  • The Monument aux Morts 1914-1918 (WWI Memorial) is officially called La Douloureuse de Pointe-à-Pitre (The Sorrowful Woman of Pointe-à-Pitre). It is an allegory of the nation in mourning. Erected through public subscription, it was inaugurated in 1925. The pedestal bears the inscription 'Karukera', which is the Amerindian name for the island. The monument is located in Place de la Victoire.
  • The statues of Solitude, battalion commanders Louis Delgrès and Joseph Ignace and Marcel Lollia, also known as Vélo.
  • The former Théâtre Renaissance (Renaissance Theater) dates from the early 20th century. It was the first movie theater in Guadeloupe.
  • Le marché Central (The Central Market) of Pointe-à-Pitre is also called the Spice Market, or Saint-Antoine Market. It was established in 1874 and it is located on Rue Frébault.
  • L'Herminier Pavilion was built in the early 1870s for the Guadeloupe Chamber of Agriculture. It is located at the corner of Rue Sadi-Carnot and Rue Jean-Jaurès.
  • Le Mémorial ACTe (The ACTe Memorial), or Caribbean Centre for Expressions and Memory of the Slave Trade and Slavery,is a memorial, located in the harbor of Pointe-à-Pitre, on the site of the former Darboussier plantation. It was unveiled in 2015 to commemorate Caribbean Slavery and the Slave Trade.
  • Le Palais de Justice de Pointe-à-Pitre (The Pointe-à-Pitre Courthouse).
Museums
  • The Musée Saint-John Perse (Saint-John Perse Museum) is housed in a beautiful 19th-century Creole house with ornate wrought-iron balconies. The museum is dedicated to poet and Nobel laureate Alexis Léger (1887-1975). He is better known as Saint-John Perse. The museum opened in 1987. The building was completed in 1880.
  • The Musée Schœlcher (Schoelcher Museum) is dedicated to Victor Schœlcher. It also features countless artefacts that are related to slavery. The museum building was comåleted in 1883 and the museum opened 3 years later.
Religious buildings
  • The Église Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul (Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul) is a Catholic church located in Place Gourbeyre. Although it has never been consecrated, the church is commonly referred to locally as the cathedral.
  • L'Église du Sacré-Cœur-de-Jésus de Pointe-à-Pitre (The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Pointe-à-Pitre) was built between 1950 and 1967.
  • L'Église Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes de Massabielle (The Church of Our Lady of Lourdes of Massabielle.
  • La grotte de Massabielle (The Grotto of Massabielle).
There are many hotels and restaurants in Pointe-à-Pitre. The town is 35 km northeast of Basse-Terre.

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Hotels in Pointe-à-Pitre

Images


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