Streets squares and districts to visit Fort-De-France

For a long time, the Savane was only a vast field of military training, on which the soldiers of the Fort-Saint-Louis garrison practiced.

This area, reclaimed from the mangrove by the governor of Blénac, was developed in the 19^th century to become the “Jardin du Roy”, flanked by a parade ground. It was then planted with a multitude of indigenous species: royal palms, bakouas, fig trees and cheese trees. These secular trees were devastated by Hurricane Dean in 2007.

The highlight of the restructuring of the Fort-de-France waterfront in the early 2010s, this vast 5-hectare green esplanade has been completely rehabilitated with, in the center, a mini-forest of royal palms, adorned with bougainvillea and traveler trees. All around, kiosks housing snack bars and souvenir stores line the square, which opens onto the pretty Plage de la Française. It was once lined with statues of Josephine and Pierre-Belain d'Esnambuc, who settled on the island just before the arrival of French settlers in 1635, but these were torn down and toppled in June 2020 by a group of activists.

Today, the Savane is one of the emblematic sites of Fort-de-France and one of the Foyalais' favorite places for walking: it hosts most of the events and becomes every year the nerve center of the island during the carnival. For the people of Martinique, in addition to its historical role, the Savane is also an important meeting place where lovers used to meet.

Developed under the Second Empire as a chic district of the capital away from the working-class Terres Sainville neighborhood, Giopeinture still maintains its bourgeois allure today. It's a pleasant place to stroll and look for vestiges of early ^20th-century Art Nouveau architecture. The Villa Primerose (1906-1920) was one of the most successful examples: this historic monument unfortunately burned down completely in July 2014.