Sainte-Anne

Sainte-Anne is a city in the southern part of Grande-Terre, considered by some to be one of the most touristic towns of Guadeloupe (with Le Gosier and Saint-François). The last census in 1999 indicated that there were 20,410 inhabitants living in Sainte-Anne, up from 16,933 in 1990.

The commune, which has an area of 80.29 km² (31.00 sq mi), turned decidedly towards tourism in the last 20 years, but still remains dependent on agriculture.

Petit-Bourg

Petit-Bourg is the seventh-largest commune in the French overseas département of Guadeloupe. It is located on the east side of the island of Basse-Terre, and is part of the metropolitan area of Pointe-à-Pitre, the largest conurbation in Guadeloupe. In the 1999 census, Petit-Bourg had a population of 20,528. The commune has a land area of 129.88 km² (50.147 sq mi).

Culture

Guadeloupe’s culture is probably best known for the islanders’ literary achievements, particularly the poetry of Saint-John Perse, the pseudonym used by Alexis Léger. Perse won the 1960 Nobel Prize in Literature “for the soaring flight and the evocative images of his poetry which in a visionary fashion reflects the conditions of our time.”

Guadeloupe has always had a rich literary production prolonged today by many living writers, poets, novelists, essayists and journalists, among them Mesdames Maryse Condé and Simone Schwartz-Bart, M. Ernest Pépin.

Also culturally important are the arts, particularly painting and sculpture. Famous painters and/or sculptors include Michel Rovelas, Claudie Cancelier, Jean-Claude Echard, Christian Bracy, Roger Arekian, les Frères Baptiste, Michelle Chomereau-Lamothe, Léogane, Pédurand, Nicole Réache, Victor Sainsily. Guadeloupean visual effects artist compositor Karim Sahai of Weta Digital, New Zealand, has worked on the visual effects of many movies such as The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, and The Waterhorse.

Form of government

French Overseas Department (département d’outre-mer) with four deputies in the French National Assembly and two senators in the Senate. Internal Affairs by the Conseil général (42 members) perceived.

Demographics

(July 2006 estimates from the CIA World Factbook; note that these estimates disagree with official INSEE estimates and that they also include Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy)

Geography

Guadeloupe comprises five islands: Basse-Terre Island, Grande-Terre (separated from Basse-Terre by a narrow sea channel called Salt River) with the adjacent islands of La Désirade, Les Saintes and Marie-Galante.

Basse-Terre has a rough volcanic relief while Grande-Terre features rolling hills and flat plains.

Further to the north, Saint-Barthélemy and the French part of Saint Martin once came under the jurisdiction of Guadeloupe but on December 7, 2003, both of these areas voted to become an overseas territorial collectivity, a decision which took effect on February 22, 2007.

When to Go

Guadeloupe is pleasant to visit at any time of the year, with a warm climate year-round. During winter (December to February), evenings are gorgeously mild and temperatures linger between 19-28°C (67-83°F). The driest months are between February and April, with rain falling an average of seven days a month and the humidity staying in the realm of the tolerable. This temperate period is also the peak tourist season. The wettest months are July to November, which is also hurricane season, so keep an eye on weather reports.

Most cultural events take place in the spring and summer. The Fête des Cuisinières (Festival of Women Cooks) is a colorful event held in early August where women in Creole dress parade through the streets to the cathedral, where they are blessed by the bishop.

Basse-Terre

Basse-Terre is the capital city of Guadeloupe, an overseas région and département of France located in the Lesser Antilles. The city of Basse-Terre is located on Basse-Terre Island, the western-half of Guadeloupe.

Although it is the administrative capital of Guadeloupe, Basse-Terre is only the second-largest city in Guadeloupe behind Pointe-à-Pitre, with 44,864 inhabitants in its urban area in 1999 (12,400 of whom lived in the city of Basse-Terre proper).

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an island group or archipelago located in the eastern Caribbean Sea at 16°15′N 61°35′WCoordinates: 16°15′N 61°35′W, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres (629 sq. mi).^[1] It is an overseas department of France. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe 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, Guadeloupe is part of the European Union; hence its currency is the euro.^[2] Guadeloupe is however not party to the Schengen Agreement. The capital of Guadeloupe is Basse-Terre.