Guadeloupe Shopping and nightlife
Shopping in Guadeloupe
For souvenirs and local handicrafts, the best place to shop is the Village Artisanal (www.village-artisanal.com), which opened in 2013 and showcases the best in Guadeloupian produce. Located on Grande-Terre’s La Pointe des Châteaux peninsula, this market is home to a range of boutiques, plus a restaurant.
Pointe-a-Pitre is good for high street shopping; the stores in Center Saint-John Perse sell everything from perfume and jewellery to cosmetics. Emporiums selling similar products can be found down the Frébault, Nozières, and Schoelcher Street.
The best markets in Pointe-a-Pitre can be found on the harbour side. Spices, flowers and local handicrafts can all be purchased here.
Nightlife in Guadeloupe
No evening in Guadeloupe is complete without listening to the soothing sounds of Biguine, a type of music which fuses 19th-century French ballroom dance steps with African rhythms. Although many believe Biguine to be a Martinique invention, Guadeloupians proudly claim they introduced it to the world. Zouk, a fast, carnival-style type of music, which originated in Guadeloupe and Martinique, is equally popular.
As night falls on Guadeloupe, many restaurants and bars morph into live music venues. As well as Biguine and Zouk, jazz is also popular on the islands.
The Zoo Rock Café (tel: in Gosier is a restaurant and bar which has an outdoor terrace area and holds regular themed nights. Music fans will love Auberge de la Vieille Tour, Le Gossier, Grande-Terre (tel: +590 590 842 323; www.auberge-vieille-tour.fr), which serves up a fine selection of rum and delicious salt fish fritters to the sound of live jazz.
The Marina Pointe-à-Pitre is home to a smorgasbord of bars, nightclubs and restaurants, which overlook the limpid natural harbour between Grande-Terre and Basse-Terre. Expect extended happy hours, live music and is-that-the-time-already revelry that goes on well into the early hours.
For those that fancy a flutter, there are two casinos in Guadeloupe – Casino Gosier-les-Bains in Gosier and Casino de St-François in St-François. Both are on Grande-Terre.
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