Local history and culture Le François

Raymond Rijo has imagined a Creole garden where market gardening, fruit growing, aromatic and medicinal plants coexist: cocoa, guava, banana, sugar cane, allspice, calabash… and especially cassava, the star product of the farm. The farmer offers themed educational workshops, to learn how to fight against predators, to make compost or bamboo chimes and of course to make the famous cassava-based pancakes. A high place of conservation of the traditional know-how of Martinique to discover.

Le François is an important and lively town, more authentic than touristic. There is no beach here… but you can guess the coral reef on which the waves break in the distance. Go for a walk to the fish market, where fishermen come to sell their goods that they cut up on the table, under metal shelters. In the town center, besides the church in front of the town hall, notice the huts lined up on Perrinon street: they were built by the workers of the central factory of Emile Bougenot.

If you continue along the seafront road, you will arrive at the end of the cove at a small fishing port, one of the typical places of the city. One can read on a sign: “No throwing away old cars”! An adage that unfortunately is not listened to nor followed to the letter…

Then go and contemplate the banana plantations, at the exit of Le François, which constitute a typical natural scenery. We follow the direction of Le Vauclin (12 km), then we turn to take the D16 towards Bois-Soldat. From the road, the panorama on the islets on one side and the mountain on the other is incomparable.

Finally, go have a look at La Frégate, an old colonial house in the small village called Bonnaire. Continue your journey to the Cap Est Lagoon Resort: the complex has a beach accessible to all, with white sand, with clear waters, ideal for families. It is the only beach in Le François. To swim in the turquoise waters, you will have to reach the famous islets of Le François and Le Robert.