Things to see and do Three-Îlets

Here, you'll find Martinique's largest tree nursery, as well as boutiques (arts and crafts, ready-to-wear, bookshop, florist, coffee roaster), services (car rental, real estate expert, communications agency, drone pilot school, orthoptist, osteopath, masseuse, hair clinic), leisure activities (escape game, gym, leisure center with wakepark, hydroclimb, trampoline) and food and beverage outlets (local culinary restaurant, home-made burgers, oenology center, chocolatier, etc.)).

A pleasant excursion to do with your family. Embark on board a yole to discover the mangrove of Trois-Ilets and Rivière-Salée, stroll among the mangrove trees and meet the “mantu” crabs… A professional guide will explain everything you need to know about the fauna and flora. A drink and a small snack are served on board. The duration of the excursion is 2h30. Reservation is strongly advised on site or by phone.

The birthplace of Marie-Joseph-Rose de Tascher de la Pagerie, the future Empress Josephine (1763-1814), who married Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) on March 9, 1796, this former sugar mill, formerly known as "Petite Guinée", is a place of remembrance that we highly recommend you visit. The museum has recently been refurbished to showcase the large slave community that lived here: up to 300 slaves at the height of the sugar industry in the ^18th century. For almost three centuries, these 500 hectares were home to a variety of crops: cotton, tobacco, cocoa, followed a little later by sugar cane and market gardening.

The tour begins at the mill, where the sugarcane passed through, and continues in the museum housed in the former kitchen of the main building. Through letters, souvenirs and rare objects from the period, as well as antique furniture that once belonged to Joséphine, the historical tour immerses us in the daily life of the empress. From now on, the museum will focus not only on Joséphine, but also on the slaves, recreating their way of life. The new museum space brings them to life by displaying their first names. Thanks to archive material, actors have lent them their voices, and we can now hear them. An emotionally-charged experience in which the women, men and children who lived here come to life. The tour continues through the lush garden, which, in addition to its beautiful plants, is now home to an area dedicated to medicinal plants.

The small Bakoua beach nestles in a quiet cove of Pointe-du-Bout. It's the perfect place for a relaxing day on the stilt bar, the famous Coco Bar, overlooking the turquoise waters - a must at the Bakoua hotel. The beach is open to the public, and deckchairs are available for hire. You can also have lunch on site at the La Sirène restaurant. A very pleasant stopover in Trois-Ilets, between coconut palms and white sand. For more information, contact the hotel of the same name.

Shortly after the cane house, on the road leading to the town of Trois-Ilets, the Vatable forest is a nice place for a shady and family walk to change from the beach and discover the mangrove. Along the path (which makes a loop of one hour), you will come across a wooden pontoon for those who would like to try to swim in the mangrove, picnic tables, an amphitheater decorated with enameled lava, and especially magnificent views of the mangrove and the bay of Fort-de-France. Departure for kayak rides as well.

Settled in the renovated buildings of the old Vatable distillery in Trois-Ilets, the Maison de la Canne offers a broad panorama of the multiple and complex relationships that have been established between: land, plant, people. The site recounts the main events of the history of sugar cane, (Saccharum officinarum, a plant of the grass family), from the steam engine, from the mill to the slave ship, until the cutting of the cane around 1900. Through documents, models, and engravings of the period, more than three centuries of sugar economy from the late 17^th to the 20^th century in Martinique are told. This is an opportunity to revisit this large reed originating from Asia, which very early on interested farmers for its ability to store sucrose in its stems through the process of photosynthesis. Once harvested and then crushed in large mills, the cane yields a liquid, the vesou, which is transformed into sugar after crystallization, or into rum after distillation. From the planting of the cane to the manufacture of rum, through the extraction of sugar, all stages are faithfully described. The history of sugar cane is also directly linked to the history of colonization and slavery: particularly demanding in terms of labor, the cultivation of sugar cane in the colonies led to the massive deportation of people from Africa to cover the needs of the farms. Do not leave without having read the Code Noir.

Dare to take the red brick road, and you will land in another era, that of a village where dozens of men and women work. The Village de la Poterie is an authentic village, that was once inhabited, a unique place which gathers in the same site 45 different workshops and trades: a brick factory and craftsmen potters dating from the 18^thcentury, craftsmen and designers (furniture, fashion, decoration, soaps…), artists (jewelers, painters), souvenir stores and local products (chocolates) and some restaurants.

On the town square, the tourist information office offers a lot of information on the events in Trois-Ilets, but also on the accommodation offers, the hikes, the bus schedules, activities, etc… It is full of information for any visitor who would like to organize their stay. You can also visit the website martinique.org which offers many downloadable information brochures.

It is from a passion pursued since childhood and from many years of collecting that was born this museum of the marine world, created by Mickael Tosato. For years, Mickael has been constantly growing his collection, which he exhibits in the family hotel l'Ecrin bleu in Le Diamant. Mickael's passion for seashells began when he was four years old and he started collecting shells, especially queen conches. A few years ago, he had to leave Martinique and thus left the reins to his brother Fabien to share this fabulous collection. It was at the beginning of 2018 that Fabien founded this unique place dedicated to the sea and its inhabitants, in the pottery village. More than 2,000 different species, including 700 from the West Indies alone, are referenced there on 250 square meters of exhibition area, in a place that emphasizes the most careful staging.

Discover a great variety of shells, starfish, sea urchins, crustaceans, but also sharks and naturalized shark jaws (mako, lemon, hammerhead…) from the Caribbean coasts, without forgetting an impressive series of blue marlin rostrum and sawfish. The shells are classified by family. A little further on, a superb fish gallery completes your visit. A nice walk to discover this world of silence. End your visit by going to the store to buy a nice souvenir among the shells, starfish and other wonders of deep waters.

A small strombolian volcano a few hundred thousand years old, this islet was quickly equipped with an artillery piece and fortified to the point of becoming an essential device for the defense of the bay of Fort-de-France. From 1703 to 1739, more than 200 cannons were built in Martinique! The fort, a simple battery around 1728 until the fortification project in 1746, forbids any intrusion into the bay, by aligning itself with the Pointe-des-Nègres. Ilet Ramiers (or Ilet-à-Ramiers) is the entrance to Fort-de-France coming from the South coast and Pointe-des-Nègres is the entrance to Fort-de-France coming from the North Caribbean coast. This islet, almost impregnable, is nestled on a steep rock. The attackers could only approach it from one place: a landing stage protected by a guardhouse. At the top is a flat plateau—only accessible by a ladder 70 feet above the sea—consisting of three coastal batteries, military housing, and a gunpowder magazine; several of these buildings are listed as historic monuments. The rock played a defensive role until 1876 and then served as a lazaretto and military hospital for brief periods in addition to the Pointe-du-Bout fort. A military rest center in the 1960s, this 3-hectare islet is now a site protected by the Conservatoire du Littoral for its flora and fauna, in particular the Lesser Antillean iguana, an endemic species. It is forbidden to enter the site.

With over 1,500 varieties of various plants, this nursery is the largest on the island. You'll find everything from fruit trees and citrus fruits to green, flowering, aromatic, aquatic, fat and pollution-removing plants and cacti. Plants are sold in pots to both professional and private customers. If you have any questions, our team of specialists is on hand to help you plant and care for your plant progeny.

It was here, on this site overlooking the Caribbean Sea, that Marie-Josèphe-Rose Tascher de la Pagerie was born in 1763. The future Empress Josephine spent her first sixteen years here. At the time, this 300-hectare former sugar estate was known as "Little Guinea": 200 slaves worked in the cane, coffee and indigo fields exported to France, and the property had no garden of its own. Destroyed by a hurricane in 1766, the dwelling was left somewhat abandoned before being bought back in the ^19th century. But it wasn't until 1944 and the intervention of Dr. Robert Rose-Rosette, future mayor of Trois-Ilets, that this heritage was restored. All that remains of the sugar mill that was home to Joséphine's family are the ruins, listed as a Monument Historique. The mill where the plantation's cane was distilled is now used to welcome visitors. A museum featuring objects belonging to the Empress has been created, as has a magnificent garden planted with trees. Beautifully landscaped, it is home to a wealth of wild vegetation, including a plethora of African sausage trees. A flower bed surrounds a bust of Josephine. A lovely walk in a green setting.