Tourist Attractions & Monuments French Guiana

Founded in 1668, Loyola Dwelling was one of the most important European colonial farms of its time. It functioned as a multi-ethnic society, with the Jesuit fathers, site administrators, European workers, a large number of slaves from Africa and a handful of natives living side by side. Covering almost 1,000 hectares at its peak, the Loyola settlement established itself as one of Guyana's main production centers for cocoa, coffee and sugar, as well as, to a lesser extent, pottery and blacksmithing. In 1740, the Jesuits even introduced indigo cultivation.

Soon impoverished by falling cocoa and coffee prices, but also by a slowdown in soil production, the dwelling turned to molasses production and tafia distillation, before abandoning for good the sugar business, like indigo, and turning to cotton production. In 1763, King Louis XV ordered the expulsion of the Jesuits from the Kingdom of France. Declared bankrupt, the Society of Jesus left the dwelling, which was later requisitioned by the French army and played its part in the Kourou expedition.

During your visit, you'll follow a 4.6 km loop trail that leads to the remains of the dwelling: the master's house, the chapel, the sugar mill and the windmill. Gutted or low walls bear witness to a bygone prosperity.

An exhibition hall of almost 350 square meters rich with over 2,000 works by artists from West Guiana, CARMA is the initiative of Patrick Lacaisse, a French artist who opened this art center and artists' residence in 2014. The Chercheurs d'Art association (contemporary and traditional artists, teachers and researchers) is thus able to fulfill its mission of promoting Guyanese artistic creation. Beautiful exhibition of crafts from yesterday and today.

On the banks of the river, surrounded by a formal garden, the customs collector's house has been a listed historic building since 2016. Over 150 years ago, this wood-and-brick building housed the chief medical officer of the Saint-Laurent penal colony. Strategically placed opposite the landing stage for prison ships and close to the governor's residence, it is assumed that the house was handed over to the customs administration in 1946 when the prison closed its doors.

This old building, erected between 1883 and 1885 by a convict in the heart of the town, was first a postcard store, then a gold panning equipment store and finally a hotel. At the end of the ^19th century, two former convicts founded Pérez & Lévy, a hardware store selling fabric, stamps and firearms. In 1953, the Barcarel family acquired the building and inaugurated a small but very popular hotel. Now closed, the relais Barcarel boasts remarkable architecture, combining timber framing and exposed brickwork.

At the NGO's premises on rue Simon in the Chinese village, you'll discover a Tembé museum (traditional art of the Maroni people), featuring around a hundred works by local artists, as well as a phytotheque for recognizing over 100 traditional plants. Founded more than 20 years ago, this cultural center also works to transmit the cultures of the Maroon people: popular arts and traditions, traditional pharmacopoeia and therapies, customs and sustainable development.

From 1643, as France organized expeditions to colonize French Guiana, the Jesuits settled on the îlet la Mère. Then, in 1776, the islet was used to house Cayenne's lepers, before becoming a farm and later a penitentiary, one of the first penal colonies in French Guiana: some fifteen buildings could accommodate up to 600 inmates. 20 years after its opening, however, an epidemic of yellow fever ravaged the island, which was abandoned. Much later, in 1981, the Institut Pasteur built an annex on the islet, at the same time as setting up a saimiri farm: these squirrel monkeys are used to collect serum for anti-malarial treatment. In 2001, the Institut Pasteur withdrew, and the islets were assigned to the Conservatoire du Littoral, which installed information and discovery panels to help visitors better understand the history of îlet la Mère.

Today, although the islet has returned to its wild state, it has preserved a number of building remains, most of which date back to the penal colony era. Along a 3.5 km (1h30) circuit, you'll see the remains of a hospital and a church, as well as the ruins of buildings where convicts were locked up. There's also a climb up to a former semaphore, at the foot of which a covered carbet has been set up for picnics in the shade (but not for overnight stays).

Once a month, usually on Saturdays at 6.15 and 7.15 a.m. (for daytime outings) and 6.15 p.m. (for nocturnal outings), CNES unveils the rich fauna and flora of the CSG savannahs. An agent from the ONF (Office National des Forêts) will show you this well-preserved sample of Guiana's coastline, where animal encounters are not uncommon: jaguars, red ibises, sloths and armadillos are among the hosts of these woods. The schedule is available on the Internet, and departures are from the Musée de l'Espace (undergoing renovation in 2023).

One of the most dynamic tourist offices in French Guiana. On foot, by pirogue, kayak or bicycle, reach magical places like Sunset Beach or the Gobaya Soula waterfalls (20 minutes by pirogue and an hour's walk). Walk along the trails of the abattis, the sands of New Wacapou, experience a sunset over the magnificent Maroni River... To be organized with efficient and friendly interlocutors. Sale of local crafts, bike rental, guided city tour.