Les Trois-Îlets
Across the bay from Fort-de-France, the village where Joséphine grew up, with a marina at Pointe du Bout, a Robert Trent Jones course and a water shuttle to the capital.
- Arrival
- Martinique Aimé Césaire International · FDF
- To Les Trois-Îlets
- About 7 km across the bay; 20 minutes by water shuttle from Fort-de-France
- Private jets
- FDF open around the clock, customs on site
- Best time
- February to April
The city
An empress’s childhood, and the bay at the door.
The commune takes its name from three islets offshore, Tébloux, Charles and Sixtain. Marie-Rose Tascher spent her childhood on the Domaine de la Pagerie here before she married Napoleon and became the Empress Joséphine; the estate is now a museum. Potters still work at the wheel in the Village de la Poterie, beside one of the oldest brickworks in France.
On the coast, Pointe du Bout gathers the hotels, the marina and the restaurants, between the beaches of Anse Mitan and Anse-à-l’Âne. Water shuttles cross from Fort-de-France in twenty minutes, and the town has its own eighteen-hole course, the Golf de l’Impératrice, laid out by Robert Trent Jones.
- Musée de la Pagerie The estate where the future Empress Joséphine grew up, now a museum.
- Village de la Poterie Potters at the wheel, around one of the oldest brickworks in France.
- Golf de l’Impératrice Eighteen holes designed by Robert Trent Jones, in the commune itself.
Arriving
Land at Le Lamentin, cross the bay.
Martinique Aimé Césaire lies at Le Lamentin, about seven kilometres from Les Trois-Îlets in a straight line across the bay of Fort-de-France; by road the drive goes round the water.
- Barbados 40 min
- Antigua 45 min
- Washington 4 h 25
- New York 4 h 25
- Nice 9 h 35 long-range jet
When to go
February to April.
Highs of 28 to 30 °C and a sea of 26 to 29 °C in every month. February to April are the dry months, March the driest at under 70 mm; from June to November the rain passes 170 mm a month and peaks at nearly 250 mm in August.
- 28° J 119 27°
- 28° F 91 26°
- 28° M 68 27°
- 29° A 90 27°
- 30° M 124 28°
- 30° J 174 28°
- 30° J 231 28°
- 30° A 247 29°
- 30° S 233 29°
- 30° O 235 29°
- 29° N 218 28°
- 28° D 153 28°
Where to stay
Pointe du Bout, and the coasts beyond.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- La Suite Villa Six suites above the bay of Fort-de-France and nine villas, each with its own Jacuzzi, run by its owners, Patrick and Hélène Fournet.
- Hotel Bakoua Creole-style rooms on a small peninsula with its own beach, and a thatched bar on stilts at the end of the pier; in the MICHELIN Guide selection.
- La Pagerie – Tropical Garden Hotel Rooms around a pool and a tropical garden, a few steps from the beach of Anse Mitan.
-
Sable Bleu Boutique Hotel Sixteen rooms by the sea near the Le Marin marina, with a rooftop pool looking over the masts.
-
French Coco Seventeen suites, sixteen of them with a private pool, at the entrance to the Caravelle peninsula nature reserve on the Atlantic coast.
Where to dine
Tasting menus on both sides of the bay.
No MICHELIN Guide covers Martinique. Le Zandoli is listed in Gault&Millau’s Antilles guide and Plein Soleil’s chef was its Chef of the Year 2020; all four are classed gastronomic or gourmet by the island’s tourism authority.
- Le Zandoli Gault&Millau Modern gourmet La Suite Villa, Les Trois-Îlets
- Plein Soleil Gault&Millau Chef of the Year 2020 Creative, island produce and seafood Hôtel Plein Soleil, Le François, about 17 km north-east
- Carte Blanche by Harold Martinique Tourism, gourmet Blind tasting menu, Creole roots Domaine de Château Gaillard, Les Trois-Îlets
- Miza Martinique Tourism, gastronomic Surprise tasting menu Rivière Roche, Fort-de-France, about 10 km across the bay
Elsewhere in Martinique
More reasons to come.
- Fort-de-France The capital on its bay, and the Schoelcher library shipped over from Paris.
- Sainte-Anne The Grande Anse des Salines, the island's most celebrated beach.
- Le François Islets and the shallow Fonds Blancs, on the Atlantic side.
- Saint-Pierre The old capital destroyed by Mont Pelée in 1902, its ruins still standing.
Flying to Les Trois-Îlets?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.