The DM Zone and your traveling host Dianemarie Collins spent a holiday in Martinique in the Caribbean on her #CelebrityCruises vacation! DM highly recommends traveling to Martinique if you’d like your dream island vacation to come with a French accent. This is the Caribbean with French style and panache — beautiful white-sand beaches, interesting cultural attractions, world-class sailing, a mountainous landscape with plenty of hiking opportunities, and, naturellement, delicious food and unique local rum from Clements Rum Distillery.
Martinique is dominated by the volcanic peak of Mount Pelee. Martinique also boasts a golf course, tennis courts, excellent sailing, and good windsurfing. If you’re craving culture, explore Fort-de-France, which has some interesting cathedrals, the historic Fort Saint Louis, and a couple of museums examining the island’s history. St-Pierre has a volcano museum dedicated to the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelee that buried this small city, killing all but one of its 30,000 inhabitants.
A hurricane had ravaged nearby islands, so Martinique was added as a substitute destination and we were thrilled to visit the downtown area, tour a replica of a French church Sacre Coeur built on Martinique, walk in the trees on an elevated sidewalk at lush gardens at Jardins de Balata, and finish our tour with rum tasting. Rum is the flavor that drives the feeling of community in Martinique. For those knowing already the church in top of Montmartre, Paris, the view from Martinique’s Sacre Coeur is just astonishing however, the Martinique church is 5 times smaller than its Paris counterpart.
Sample the French cuisine, too in Martinique where you can find everything from fresh croissant and foie gras to Creole specialties like boudin, or blood sausage. Seafood is a common ingredient, including conch fritters, lobster, and escargot, while the island’s native fruits — bananas, guava, soursop and passion fruit — is also widely used. For fine contemporary French food, try La Belle Epoque in Fort-de-France – we did and were very impressed with the service and the food. The local Rhum Agricole is made from pressed sugar cane juice, not molasses, imparting a unique flavor.
When Christopher Columbus discovered Martinique in 1493, the island was inhabited by Arawak and Carib Indians. Martinique has been under French control since colonies were established in 1635. In 1974, France granted Martinique some local political and economic autonomy, which was increased in 1982 and 1983. Today, the island controls most of its affairs, with the exception of defense and security.
Martinique, also known as Paris in the Tropics, has a unique blend of French, African, Creole and West Indian influences.
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Dianemarie is an accomplished actress, dancer and entertainer who has performed from dinner theaters to nightclubs to Broadway. Join DM, a YouTube personality, as she travels the world and documents her life and travel adventures from all over the globe. For over 15 years, Dianemarie has hosted The DM Zone – a syndicated, online television channel that is hosted across multiple video platforms across the Internet. The DM Zone is a compelling platform for politicians, authors, actors, athletes, musicians and other creative professionals. http://TheDMZone.com
