St Barts

Saint Barthélemy (French: Saint-Barthélemy; French pronunciation: [sɛ̃barteləˈmi], Swedish: Sankt Barthelemy), officially the Collectivity of Saint Barthélemy (French: Collectivité de Saint-Barthélemy), is an overseas collectivity of France. To the northwest lies St. Martin, to the southwest Saba, to the south St. Eustatius and St. Kitts, and ultimately to the southeast Barbuda.

It has an area of 21 km² and a population of 8,398 (census 2006). Its capital is Gustavia, which is also its main harbor. Also known as Saint Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the collectivity is one of the four territories among the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean that comprise the French West Indies, along with Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Martin. It is the only Caribbean island to have historically been a Swedish colony. The Swedish influence can still be found in architecture and street names.^{[citation needed]} The language, cuisine and culture are distinctly French.

Geography

In green (with red legend) are the former constituent parts of the Guadeloupe region/department among the Leeward Islands, including Saint Barthélemy, prior to February 2007.

Map of Saint-Barthélemy

---

---

Located approximately 250 km east of Puerto Rico, Saint-Barthélemy lies near the islands of Saint Martin, Saba and Anguilla. Some small satellite islets also belong to Saint Barthélemy:

• Île Chevreau (Île Bonhomme)
• Île Frégate
• Île Toc Vers
• Île Tortue
• Gros Îlets (Îlots Syndare)

Gustavia, which is the main town of the island, was named after King Gustav III of Sweden, and remains as a reflection of the Swedish period.

The oldest settlement still remaining is the village of Lorient (or L'Orient), although scattered in every cemetery on the island can be found Swedish grave markers. Lorient's sister village on the French mainland is the city of Lorient on the southern coast of Brittany. The population is spread among a number of quartiers, roughly corresponding to settlements. Besides the capital Gustavia, there are:

1. Anse des Cayes
2. Grand Fond
3. Grand Cul-de-Sac
4. Petit Cul-de-Sac
5. Quartier de Colombier
6. Quartier de la Grande Saline
7. Quartier de la petite Saline
8. Quartier de Public
9. Quartier de Toiny
10. Quartier des Flamands et Merlette
11. Quartier du Corossol
12. Quartier du Marigot
13. Quartier du Roy
14. Quartier de Vitet
15. Quartier de Devé
16. Quartier de Lurin
17. Quartier de Gouverneur
18. Quartier Lorient (oldest settlement)
19. Quartier Saint-Jean

Beaches

Of the 21 beaches on the small island, several are considered especially inviting. On the southern side of the island, Saline is a pristine beach with no development. On the western edge of the island is Colombier beach, which is only reachable by boat or a hike. St. Jean, Flamands and Grand-Cul-de-Sac beaches are also popular and attractive beaches which have hotels and other establishments on them. Shell Beach is popular for families with kids as it has little surf.

St. Barths has a tidal difference of only 8–15 cm. The beaches vary according to ocean currents — the weather travels onto the island following the sun from the East. One of the main surfing beaches (Toiny) is known for its riptide, while Grand Fond is one of the island's only non-swimming beaches. Although tourism doesn't allude to it, there are a small variety of warm water sharks in the Caribbean. So, swimming at dusk and dawn or in murky waters is not recommended. Otherwise, scuba and snorkeling are a great way to see the nurse sharks, lobsters, conch and green sea turtles that abound in the waters surrounding St. Barth.

The beach of Grand Cul-de-Sac is the easiest beach in the Caribbean for learning sailing, windsurfing and kitesurfing as it has a reef which closes off the entire bay. The current that passes outside the reef here also carries the migrating whales and dolphins.