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The Caribbean Island of Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern
Caribbean Sea, having a
land area of 1,128 km2 (436 sq mi). It is an
overseas department of
France. To the northwest
lies Dominica, to the
south St Lucia. As with the other
overseas departments, Martinique is also one of the twenty-six regions of France (being
an overseas region) and an
integral part of the Republic. As part of France, Martinique is part of the European Union, and its
currency is the euro. Its official
language is French, although many of
its inhabitants also speak Antillean Creole
(Créole Martiniquais). Martinique is pictured on all euro banknotes, on the
reverse at the bottom of each note, right of the Greek ΕΥΡΩ (EURO) next
to the denomination.
Martinique Environment
The north
of the island is mountainous and lushly forested. It features 4 ensembles of pitons and mornes: the Piton Conil on
the extreme North, which dominates the Dominica Channel, the Mount Pelee, an active volcano, the Morne Jacob, and
the Pitons du Carbet, an ensemble of 5 rainforest-covered extinct volcanoes dominating the Bay of Fort de France at
1,196 meters. The most dominating of the island's many mountains, with 1397 meters, is the infamous volcano Mount
Pelée. The volcanic ash has created grey and black sand beaches in the north (in particular between Anse Ceron and
Anse des Gallets), contrasting markedly from the white sands of Les Salines in the
south. The south is more easily traversed, though it still features some
impressive geographic features. Because it is easier to travel and because of the many beaches and food throughout
this region, the south receives the bulk of the tourist traffic. The beaches from Pointe de Bout, through Diamant
(which features right off the coast of Roche de Diamant), St. Luce, the town of St. Anne all the way down to Les
Salines are popular.
Martinique Flag
The snake flag of Martinique has no official status on the island. It is a
historical flag dating from an edict issued 4 August 1766, specifying that vessels of the French Colony of
Martinique and Saint Lucia should fly a version of the French ensign, which at the time was a white cross on a
blue field, with L-shaped (for Lucia) snakes in each quarter of the cross.
The snakes are fer-de-lance vipers (Bothrops lanceolatus, French trigonocéphale) native to Martinique.
Martinique Geography
The island is dominated by Mount Pelee, which on 8 May
1902 erupted and completely destroyed the city of Saint Pierre, killing 30,000 inhabitants
Martinique, a mountainous island lying in the Lesser Antilles about 300 mi (483 km) northeast of Venezuela, was
probably explored by Columbus in 1502 and was taken for France in 1635. Martinique became a domain of the French
crown in 1674. It became an overseas department of France in 1946.
Public Transport in Martinique is very
limited, which could explain the reason why there are more cars registered in Martinique per person than anywhere
else in France.
Despite
the traffic, if you are going to make the most of your stay in Martinique, it is recommended that you hire a car.
Without a car you will miss some of Martinique's best landscapes and scenery.
Due to
the Taxi Union demands, there is no public transport from the airport, which means that you can either hire a car
or take a taxi.
Taxis in
Martinique are not cheap. The taxi fare from the airport to Fort-de-France is around 20 euros, 38 euros to Pointe
du Bout and Le Francois and 55 euros to Sainte-Anne. Be warned that taxis operate an extortionate 40% surcharge
between 8pm and 6am as well as on Sundays and public holidays. To call a taxi 24hrs dial 0596 63 10 10 or 0596 63
63 62.
Buses
There are very few buses in Martinique. Most bus services are mini buses marked "TC", which stands for "Taxi
Collectifs". The destinations of the buses are marked on a board either on the front window or on the side door.
Bus stops (arret autobus) are normally a square blue sign with a picture of a bus in white. Most Taxi Collectifs
depart and arrive at the Taxi Collectif Terminal at Pointe Sinon in Fort-de-France. They cost approximately 5 euros
to Saint-Pierre, Pointe du Bout and Diamant, 7 euros to Sainte-Anne and 9 euros to Grand-Rivière. There are no
timetables and the service can be unreliable. Most services are finished by 6pm weekdays and 1pm on Saturday. There
are no services on Sundays.
Shuttle
BoatsThere are shuttle boats every 30mins from Pointe du Bout and Trois Ilet to Fort-de-France. It is a very
pleasant way of getting to Fort-de-France and also avoids the traffic. Services finish between 5:45 and 8pm
depending upon the day.
HitchhikingHitchhiking is very common in Martinique, although like anywhere in the world not
recommended. If you are going to hitchhike, take lots of water and try to stay out of the sun. There are very few
footpaths in Martinique, so be careful and take the usual precautions that you have to take when hitchhiking
anywhere. If you are unsure about getting into a car, just keep walking or wait for another
car.
Driving
in MartiniqueDriving in Martinique will be a pleasure in comparison to other Caribbean islands. The majority of
roads are of an excellent standard.
Your
driving license from your home country is valid in Martinique. Driving laws are the same as in France and you have
to drive on the right hand side of the road. Distances and speed limits are in Km and Km/h. There are several speed
cameras on the island and the Gendarmerie are carrying out an increasing number of speed checks, so you should
always watch your speed. Unless otherwise stated, the speed limit is generally 50km/h in towns, 90km/h on major
roads and 110km/h on the auto route between the airport and Fort-de-France.
When
travelling to the airport during rush hours, allow plenty of time. The N5 and Lamentin can get very busy. It is
particularly busy between 06:30 and 09:30 and between 15:30 and 18:30.
What to Eat
Martinique is unique in contrast to the majority of the other Caribbean islands in that it has a
wide variety of dining options. The Ti Gourmet Martinique (2000) lists 456 cafés and/or restaurants on the island –
not including the various bars some of which serve food as well as alcohol. The 1998 brochure produced and
published by the ARDTM counts up to 500 food-service related establishments (this corresponds to over 3,000 jobs).
Restaurants in Martinique range from the exclusive high-end gourmet restaurants to the crêpes, accras, boudin,
fruit juices, and coconut milk one can purchase from food merchants on the beach or at snack stands/restaurants in town.
Restaurants, Créole cookbooks, public fairs and festivities, and the
expensive dining rooms of foreign-owned luxury hotels where food is served, all present themselves as crucial
staging grounds where ideas about Martiniquan cuisine, and therefore, identity, authenticity and place are
continuously tested.
Language
French
and Creole patois are spoken on the islands; English is known by some inhabitants.
Spending
Money
Martinique is a dependent territory of France and uses the euro as currency. US dollars are not
accepted in shops, but many restaurants and hotels take credit cards. The best exchange rates can be had at banks.
Not all banks will do foreign exchanges and may direct you to Fort De France to do such
transactions.
culture
As an overseas département of France, Martinique's culture blends French and Caribbean influences. The city of
Saint-Pierre (destroyed by a volcanic eruption of Mount Pelée), was often referred to as the Paris of the Lesser
Antilles. Following traditional French custom, many businesses close at midday, then reopen later in the afternoon.
The official language is French, although many Martinicans speak Martinican Creole, a subdivision of Antillean
Creolevirtually identical to the varieties spoken in neighboring English-speaking islands of Saint Lucia and
Dominica. Mostly based on French and African languages, Martinique's creole also incorporates a few elements of
English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Originally passed down through oral storytelling traditions, it continues to be
used more often in speech than in writing. Its use is predominant within friends and the family cell. Though it is
normally not to be used in professional situations, it is being increasingly used in the media and by politicians
as a way to redeem national identity and by fear from a complete cultural assimilation by mainland France. The
local Creole is, for the most part, intelligible to speakers of Standard French, as it has lost some of its
distinct dialectal qualities.
Martinique's population
Most of Martinique's population is descended from enslaved Africans brought to work on sugar plantations during
the colonial era, generally mixed with some French, Amerindian(Carib people), Indian (Tamil), Lebanese or Chinese
elements. Between 5 to 10% of the population is of Eastern Indian (Tamil) origin. The island also boasts a small
Syro-Lebanese community, a small but increasing Chinese community, and the "Béké" community, White descendants from
the first French and British settlers, which still dominate parts of the Agricultural and Trade sectors. Whites
represent 5% of the population. The Béké people (which total around 5,000 people in the island, most of them of
aristocratic origin by birth or after buying the title) generally live in mansions on the Atlantic coast of the
island (mostly in the François - Cap Est district). In addition to the island population, the island hosts a
metropolitan French community, most of which lives on the island on a temporary basis (generally from 3 to 5
years).
There are an estimated 260,000 people of Martinican origin living in mainland France, most of them in the
Parisian region.
Today, the island enjoys a higher standard of living than most other Caribbean countries. The finest French
products are easily available, from Chanel fashions to Limoges porcelain. Studying in the métropole is common for
young adults. For the rest of the French, Martinique has been a vacation hotspot for many years, attracting both
upper-class and more budget-conscious travelers.
Martinique has a hybrid cuisine, mixing elements of African, French, and Asian traditions. One of its most
famous dishes is the Colombo, a unique curry of chicken (curry chicken), meat or fish with vegetables, spiced with
a distinctive masala of Tamil origins acidulated with tamarind and often containing wine, coconut milk, and rum.
There is also a strong tradition of créole desserts and cakes, often employing pineapple, rum, and a wide range of
local ingredients.
Music
The former French colony of Martinique is a small island in the Caribbean. Its musical heritage is intertwined
with that of its sister island, Guadeloupe. Despite their small size, the islands have created a large popular
music industry, which gained in international renown after the success of zouk music in the later 20th century.
Zouk's popularity was particularly intense in France, where the genre became an important symbol of identity for
Martinique and Guadeloupe. Zouk's origins are in the folk music of Martinique and Guadeloupe, especially Haitian
kompa, Martinican chouval bwa, Guadeloupan gwo ka, and the pan-Caribbean calypso tradition.
Carnival
French Antillean Carnival in Paris
Carnival is a very important festival, known as Vaval on Martinique. Music plays a vital role, with Martinican
big bands marching across the island. Vaval declined following World War II, bouncing back with new band formats
and new traditions only in the 1980s. Like Guadeloupe, Martinique features participatory, call-and-response style
songs during its Vaval celebrations.
In the early 20th century on Martinique, Creole bands travelled on trucks or small carts during Vaval, playing a
music known as biguine vidé (or just videé). After the decline of Vaval in World War II, the tradition began anew
in the 1980s, when large marching bands of fifty or more people became common, including a number of horn players,
percussionists and dancers. These large bands, known as groups à pied, are each identified with a neighborhood.
Biguine vidé is participatory music, with the bandleader singing a verse and the audience responding. Modern
instrumentation includes a variety of improvised drums made from containers of all kinds, plastic plumbing, bells,
tanbou débonda, chacha, tibwa and gwoka drums. Aside from the biguine vidé bands, Vaval includes song and costume
contests, masquerading and zouk parties.
Chouval bwa
Chouval bwa is a kind of Martinican traditional music, featuring percussion, bamboo flute, accordion, and
wax-paper/comb-type kazoo. The music originated among rural Martinicans, as a form of celebratory holiday music
played to accompany a dance called the manege (which translates as merry-go-round; chouval bwa is a Creole version
of cheval bois, which refers to the wooden horses seen on merry-go-rounds). Chouval bwa percussion is played by a
drummer on the tanbour drum and the ti bwa, a percussion instrument made out of a piece of bamboo laid horizontally
and beaten with sticks; the most traditional ensembles also use accordions, chacha (a rattle ) and the bel-air, a
bass version of the tanbour .
Popular
music
Though Martinique and Guadeloupe are most frequently known only for the
internationally-renowned zouk style, the islands have also produced popular musicians in various updated styles of
traditional biguine, chouval bwa and gwo ka. The world-famous zouk band Kassav' remains easily the most famous
performers from the island. Chouval bwa has diversified into pop genres like zouk chouv, which includes electric
instrumentation and has been popularized by Claude Germany, Tumpak, Dédé Saint-Prix, and Pakatak. Germany is the
most traditionally-styled of the popular zouk chouv performers, while Marce Pagoof Tumpak is particularly
influential, and is also known for coining the term zouk chouv in 1987.[1]
Martinique is also the birth-place of the Gibson Brotherswho achieved significant chart success worldwide, most
notably with their single "Cuba".
Biguine
Biguine is a Martinican form of clarinet and trombone music which can be divided into two distinct types:
bidgin bélè or drum biguine - originates in slave bélè dances and characterized by the use of bélè drums and
tibwa rhythm sticks, along with call and response, nasal vocals and improvised instrumental solos; has its roots in
West African ritual dances, though ceremonial components do not survive in Haitian biguine.
orchestrated biguine - originates in Saint-Pierre in the 18th century, highly influenced by French music though
vocals are usually in creole.
Evolving out of string band music, biguine spread to mainland France in the 1920s. Early stars like Alexandre
Stellio and Sam Castandet became popular. Its popularity abroad died relatively quickly, but it lasted as a major
force in popular music on Martinique until Haitian compas took over in the 1950s and mini-jazz artists like Les
Gentlemen and Les Vikings de Guadeloupe became popular in the late 1960s. In the later part of the 20th century,
biguine musicians like clarinet virtuoso Michel Godzom helped revolutionize the genre. Biguine moderne, a pop form,
has maintained some pop success in Martinique, especially artists like Kali, who fuse the genre with reggae .
Kadans
In the 1970s, a wave of Haitian immigrants to Martinique brought with them the kadans, a sophisticated form of
music that quickly swept the island and helped unite all the former French colonies of the Caribbean by combining
their cultural influences. These Haitians drew upon previous success from mini-jazz artists like Les Gentlemen, Les
Leopards and Les Vikings de Guadeloupe.
Zouk
Zouk arose in the mid-1980s, a combination of European, African and Indian musics. Elements of gwo ka, tambour, ti
bwa and biguine vidé are prominent in zouk. Though there are many diverse styles of zouk, some commonalities exist.
The French Creole tongue of Martinique and Guadeloupe is an important element, and are a distinctive part of the
music. Generally, zouk is based around star singers, with little attention given to instrumentalists, and is based
almost entirely around studio recordings.
The band Kassav' remain the best known zouk group. Kassav' drew in influences from balakadri and bal granmoun
dances, biguines and mazurkas, along with more contemporary Caribbean influences like reggae and salsa music. Zouk
live shows soon began to draw on American and European rock and heavy metal traditions, and the genre spread across
the world, primarily in developing countries.
Music Festivals
Two large, international music festivals have further bolstered Martinique's music scene. Jazz à la Martinique and
Carrefour Mondial de Guitare alternate years. The country's best jazz musicians are featured during Jazz à la
Martinique, but major worldwide players like Branford Marsalisalso perform. Honoring the guitar, Carrefour Mondial
de Guitare celebrates a wide range of guitar genres, including flamenco, blues, jazz, rock, and pop. Both festivals
last approximately a week, with concerts in various locations throughout Martinique.
Going to a museum while vacationing in the Caribbean may not seem very exciting, but Martinique’s museums are
different. Designed for the traveler who is more interested in, say, bananas than history, the island's museums are
small, colorful and feature topics somewhere within the range of quirky to bizarre.
Musée de la Banane : This museum contains an impossible amount of information about the banana: how to pick it,
how to package it for shipping, even how to make perfume out of it. The best part of the museum is that it is also
a functioning plantation, and you can walk through groves of banana trees.
Paul Gauguin Art Center: Paul Gauguin lived in Martinique for
six months in 1887, painting the women of the island as well as its pristine beach landscapes. Unfortunately,
Martinique’s art center contains only reproductions of his works, which are now spread out among the famous museums
of the world. But the museum's insight into Gauguin’s life on the island is valuable nonetheless.
Museum of “Rhum”: That would be the French spelling of rum, the alcoholic beverage. Martinique’s sugar industry was
closely linked with rum production, and this museum chronicles the history of both. There are rum samples at the
end, so it’s best not to plan on driving yourself back!
While Martinique’s tropical climate makes some people want to lie on the beach all day, it encourages others to get
outside and play some sports. Here is a small sampling of Martinique’s outdoor activities.
Tennis: Most of the island’s hotels have tennis courts,
including the Habitat Lagrange, Sofitel Bakoua and the Club Med Resort. The courts are open at night; it’s cooler
and more pleasant to play later in the day. The courts have adjacent locker rooms well equipped with all the
amenities you’ll need.
Water Sports: As an island, Martinique is obviously ideal for water sports. Kayaking, scuba diving, windsurfing, and snorkeling are all popular, and most
resort hotels can handle any reservations or rentals you require. The best beach on the island is Les Salines,
located in southern Martinique near the town of Ste-Anne. The waters are gentle, so many families come here to
sunbathe and swim.
Hiking: The landscapes of Martinique are so diverse that even short hikes can take you through mountains,
rainforests and beaches. Casual hikers should try the Jesuits’ Trail, a relatively easy trek through one of
Martinique’s tropical forests. Ambitious hikers should attempt to scale Mt. Pelee. A guide for this hike is
mandatory, as the trail is often difficult to locate through the dense bushes.
Martinique is truly a little bit of France in the Caribbean. It exudes a distinctly French feeling...in the
excellence of its cuisine, the beauty of its language. Yet Martinique has a chachet all of its own, an endearing
West Indian warmth in its personality, a special spice in its music and dance, its local dishes and its way of
life. It is an island with style.
Getting Married in Martinique
Martinique is
truly a little bit of France in the Caribbean. It exudes a distinctly French feeling...in the excellence of
its cuisine, the beauty of its language. Yet Martinique has a chachet all of its own, an endearing West
Indian warmth in its personality, a special spice in its music and dance, its local dishes and its way of
life. It is an island with style.
Martinique Marriage Requirements
The information below outlines the marriage requirements for getting married in Martinique
Martinique Destination Weddings
There is a waiting period of one month for one of the couple.
Documents required
* birth certificate (or copy with raised seal)
* proof of single status - notarized
* certificate of good conduct
* residency card from immigration department issued upon arrival - one of the couple must have
resided on the island for at least one month
* medical certificate (including blood test) issued within three months of marriage>
French translation of all English documents is required. There are no fees. A "Bulletin de Mariage" and "Livret de
Famille" are delivered at the ceremony.
Registrars Offices.
The registrar's office should be contacted for specific rules regarding planning your destination or beach wedding
in Martinique. They will also provide information regarding marriage licenses and marriage
certificates.
Entry
Requirements
Passport required by all citizens except for US and Canadian citizens
who can provide a birth certificate or certificate of citizenship with a photo ID. Return or onward ticket is
required by all visitors.
Tourism Offices
The Tourism Offices can often help provide specific details about wedding planning in Martinique.
Office du tourisme de la
Martinique
Rue Ernest Deproge
97200 Fort-de-France
Fort de France
Martinique
Tel: 596 6379 60
Fax: 596 7366 93
Email: info@martinique.org
Web: www.martinique.org
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Our source: Over 70% of the information on this page was taken
from http://wikitravel.org the other information was from knowledge of the island and
http://www.martinique.org/.
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