Things to see and do Île Royale

The largest of the three islands in the archipelago, Île Royale is the starting point for a visit to the islands, with its many buildings. Once you've disembarked, you'll follow the coastal road to the left and take a paved path to the top of the island. It is in this vast clearing that most of the island's prison heritage is concentrated.

Inaugurated in 1855, the chapel was very active in the early years of the penal colony. The chapel walls are decorated with frescoes by the convict Lagrange. Leaving the church, you can see the sisters' house and the maternity ward where, for years, nuns devoted themselves to alleviating the suffering of convicts. As the military hospital testifies, Royale was an important health care center in French Guiana. Its healthier climate facilitated certain cures. The hospital was only open to prison staff, and convicts were only admitted in exceptional circumstances, if not to die.

Facing the hospital and the lighthouse next door is a heliport and a strange, modern building that stands out in such surroundings: the cinetheodolite. This ultra-sophisticated device can both locate the position of the launcher in flight with extreme precision, and collect images of Ariane, even at night, thanks to infrared. Leaving the helicopter pad on the right, the tour continues along a small path leading downhill. As the island is a fully protected reserve, you'll come across many animals that are not very shy. Below, you come to the children's cemetery, where the sons and daughters of the guards' families are buried. A few metres further on, on the left, is a sinister building: the morgue. Here, the bodies of dead convicts were stored before being thrown into the sea.

From themorgue, retrace your steps and follow the path overlooking the ocean, offering superb views of the coastline in places. Take time to admire the magnificent hibiscus and bougainvillea along the way. On the left, below, a few wood pigs seem perfectly at home in a vast pool of uninviting mud. At the end of the path, you come to the warders' quarters and cells. Overseers spent a minimum of two years on the islands, where they could stay with their families. A school was also set up here, enabling children to attend school.

The cell block, made up of three groups of buildings, is undoubtedly the most sinister part of the island. In these dungeons, some inmates served their sentences, while others, condemned to death, awaited execution. Leaving the cellblock, we discover a vast freshwater pit used to collect rainwater. This pit is in fact a former quarry from which raft rock, the main building material used on the island, was extracted.

Behind the pit is the Îles du Salut hotel-restaurant, housed in the former penitentiary buildings. A large covered terrace serves as an outdoor dining room, offering a splendid panorama of Devil's Island. In the large room that houses both the bar and the hotel reception, photos testify to the site's vocation for deep-sea fishing.

Behind the inn are the ruins of the semaphore. This system, similar to a visual telegraph, was used to communicate with the mainland. In Kourou, near the Hôtel des Roches, the Dreyfus Tower housed a similar device. A plaque on the semaphore wall commemorates the fact that Seznec was unjustly sentenced to 20 years' hard labor here. Nearby, slightly lower down, the director's house magnificently overlooks the Baie des Cocotiers. It houses a museum retracing the penitentiary history of the îles du Salut and serves as a visitor center. From the director's house, a path leads down to the ocean on the seaward side. You then reach Anse Legoff, the only part of the island where it's safe to swim: this is the "convicts' pool". In the days of the penal colony, the waters were infested with sharks, which did not hesitate to come close to the shore. To protect themselves from these predators, the convicts laid out huge rocks in a square plan, creating a seawater pool. The pool was used mainly for body care, which was the prisoners' only leisure activity.

Returning to the path around the island towards Devil's Island, a few dozen metres further on you come across the ferry. In the past, this small cableway was used to bring supplies to Devil's Island and to relieve the guards. From here, you can see the Dreyfus hut on Devil's Island. Following the same path, you finally reach the south jetty, which marks the entrance to Baie des Cocotiers and the end of the tour. Shortly before this, the path offers a magnificent panorama of Île Saint-Joseph, and is well worth a short stroll before setting off.

This former residence of the prison director is now the property of the Conservatoire du Littoral. Now restored, it has been transformed into a historical and cultural information and visitor center. Inside, you're sure to come across one of the center's generally well-designed temporary exhibitions (in addition to the permanent one), as well as postcards, souvenirs and historical works... The chronological panels on the walls are highly instructive. A recommended stopover.

The Albatros is a catamaran with a maximum capacity of twelve people, ensuring a certain degree of intimacy on a trip to the Isles of Salut. Departure is from the fishermen's pontoon in Kourou at 7:30 am, with a return scheduled for around 6 pm. The crossing lasts one hour, and fresh water and tea are offered on board. You'll be able to make the most of your day between a visit to Île Royale and a picnic on the beach of Île Saint-Joseph (bring your own lunch). A short tour of the islands is scheduled for later in the day.

Renovated, the chapel is now open to visitors taking a guided tour (or asking for the keys). The chapel features frescoes by forger Francis Lagrange, who spent 18 years in prison. At the request of the bishop of Cayenne, he painted these satirical pictures in the chapel between 1940 and 1948, even though he is a firm atheist. Throughout his imprisonment, he painted some 250 canvases, all signed with the same unique name: Flag. Don't miss his fresco on the Place des Palmistes in Cayenne.

The Royal Ti-Punch catamaran is one of the boats you can take on a tour of the islands from Kourou. Departures are at 8:30 a.m., with a return in the late afternoon. The skippers on board, assisted by their crews, are very professional and friendly, offering refreshments to passengers, whose maximum number cannot exceed 28. The catamaran can also be privatized for special events. Customized services (catering, parties, etc.) are available on request.