Things to do in Noumea
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Casa Italia
This Italian restaurant run by an Italian lady is tucked away in a small shopping centre. It opens onto a courtyard surrounded by plants. The pizzas and pasta dishes are simply delicious. It also serves Italian wine. Bookings are recommended as it is often full. It's about 1km from the beach at Anse Vata, on the right just after the Shell station, which is on the left as you head away from the beach. It's off a car park.
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Parc Zoologique et Forestier
A great spot to spend a morning or afternoon with the kids. You'll be able to see native species such as the cagou, roussette (fruit bat), notou and various parakeets. Nonnative species include birds, monkeys and baboons. Peacocks strut around the grounds showing off their beautiful feathers. Small children can pet tame donkeys, goats and deer, or feed the ducks and geese. There's a children's playground and lawns where you can picnic or a café at the entrance that does lunch and snacks.
A geological museum is housed in the building by the entrance.
The park is about 4km northeast of the city centre. There are no public buses to the park but le petit train and Noumea Expl…
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Noumea Market
Noumea Market sits beside the marina at Port Moselle in a cluster of round buildings with blue roofs. It has a lively multi-ethnic atmosphere and is an interesting place to wander. It sells a wide range of arts and crafts, and fresh produce including flowers, fruit and vegies, bread, cakes, olives, meat and fish. The fascinating fish market, set apart from the other buildings, sells seafood of all shapes and sizes - fish, lobsters, crabs, prawns and squid.
On Saturday and Sunday a group of local musicians playing ukuleles and other string instruments keeps shoppers entertained. The market is at its busiest early in the morning.
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Ouen Toro
A sealed road winds up the 132m hill Ouen Toro. Two WWII guns still stand sentinel at the summit from where there are excellent views over Anse Vata and baie des Citrons as well as the lagoon. You should be able to see Amédée lighthouse and the faint white line of surf at the reef. Several trails weave through the wooded slopes of Ouen Toro. One of its lower slopes is a popular parapente jump-off site. The turn-off is 100m up the hill past the swimming pool.
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Snack Ulysse
This snack is popular, unpretentious and relaxed. You can eat in or take away. It has seating on a veranda off the pavement. It serves generously filled hot or cold sandwiches, rice or chips, and meat or fish dishes. Attached to the snack is a café serving quiche, salad and cooked meals which are slightly more expensive than at the snack.
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Kuendu Beach
The water is shallow and you have to wade quite a way out to swim. Around the small headland is a marine reserve that is a great spot for snorkelling. You can either swim there from the beach or continue up the dirt road past the beach. From the top of the small rise there is a path leading down to the headland.
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Café de la Gare
This café is at the Gare Maritime where cruise ships dock. It serves quiche and salad-type dishes for lunch and makes excellent coffees. In good weather, tables are set outside the restaurant on a paved terrace surrounded by flowers and greenery.
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Market Café
Serves croissants, toasted sandwiches, and coffee, tea or hot chocolate for breakfast. It also does freshly squeezed orange juice. There is no seating but you can lean against the counter or stand around the high bars in the café area.
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Le Faré
By the beach at Hôtel Le Meridien, the Faré serves barbecue lunches. It looks out over Anse Vata and is a relaxing spot for lunch.
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Zanzibar
Zanzibar is tastefully decorated and has an exotic charm. It does international cuisine.
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Bodega Del Mar
A trendy bar on the jetty at Anse Vata. There is often live music.
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Centre Culturel Tjibaou
The wonderful Tjibaou Cultural Centre should be at the top of your list of places to visit. It is built on the secluded Tina peninsula on the site of the 'Melanesia 2000' festival organised by Jean-Marie Tjibaou in 1975, a cultural festival which, for the first time, brought together Kanaks from throughout New Caledonia. A statue of Jean-Marie Tjibaou, after whom the centre was named, stands on the hill overlooking the centre.
The harmony between the contemporary architecture and the surrounding nature is striking and gives the cultural centre the air of a futuristic religious shrine. The main buildings rise from the bush in a series of tall curved wooden structures that …
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Mwâ Ka
This magnificent 12m totem pole, topped by a grande case (chief's hut) complete with flèche faîtière, stands in a landscaped square opposite Musée de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Mwâ Ka means the house of mankind - in other words, a house where discussions are held. Its carvings are divided into eight cylindrical sections representing the eight customary regions of New Caledonia. Mounted on a concrete double-hulled pirogue, the Mwâ Ka symbolises the mast but also the central post of a case.
At the back of the pirogue a wooden helmsman steers the Mwâ Ka ever forwards. The square's flowerbed arrangements depicting stars and moons are symbolic of navigation.
The Mwâ Ka was con…
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Musée de Nouvelle-Calédonie
The Musée de Nouvelle-Calédonie gives a fascinating introduction to traditional Kanak and regional Pacific culture. Local exhibits are displayed on the ground floor and there are regional artefacts on the mezzanine level. Brochures and explanations are in French and English.
The ground-floor exhibition begins in a dimly lit area where a magnificent collection of flèche faîtière (wooden roof-top spears) and other esoteric carvings exude a mystical aura. Behind this area is a case (hut), which you can step inside, filled with the distinctive smell of dried straw and woven coconut fronds. Other displays include traditional Kanak musical instruments, clothing, fishing to…
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Place des Cocotiers
Place des Cocotiers is the heart of the city centre. It has lawns, trees, water features, and outdoor concert and market areas. It can be tranquil and relaxed on a sunny weekday lunchtime or throbbing with the energy of a crowd gathered for an outdoor concert. In December when the flamboyant trees are in flower it's a profusion of scarlet. The square slopes gently down from east to west.
A red-roofed band rotunda where concerts are held sits at the very top of the square. Heading west there is a pétanque pitch and a giant chessboard. When the chessboard is not in use teenagers take over the smooth surface to outdo each other in hip-hop contests. There are also lawns with…
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Musée de L'Histoire Maritime
Has interesting exhibitions on the early seafaring days in New Caledonia. There is also an ever-increasing collection of objects salvaged from the wrecks of La Boussole and L'Astrolabe, two ships commanded by French navigator Jean-François de la Pérouse on his ill-fated voyage in 1788. The ships sank in a cyclone off Vanikoro in the Solomon Islands.
For several years now, Association Salomon, a local association, has organised several expeditions to Vanikoro to try and solve the mystery of the shipwreck. The museum is on the way to Nouville, near the Gare Maritime des Îles where the Betico docks.
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Loca Jet
This company, situated in Nouville on the western side of baie de la Moselle, rents jet skis. Jet skiing across the lagoon is fantastic fun - anyone who likes a bit of excitement should give this tour a go. Leave early in the morning when the sea is calm.
There is a great circuit that leaves from baie de la Moselle and heads to Île aux Canards then Îlot Maitre and continues in a clockwise direction to a few more islets before heading back to baie de la Moselle around the northern side of Nouville peninsula.
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Le Roof
Everything about this top-notch gastronomic restaurant is impeccable: the food, service and setting. It's on the jetty over the water at Anse Vata. Don't be too disappointed if you can't have a table by the deck as you can watch the tropical fish in the two large aquariums inside the restaurant.
The only drawback is the loud music from the neighbouring bar and nightclub, which sometimes disturbs the otherwise perfect atmosphere. But then again, it may put you in the mood to go nightclubbing after dinner.
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Le Galapagos
The Galapagos does a scrumptious cheese buffet on Thursday evenings. The buffet includes a dozen or so French cheeses, a variety of fresh breads, a tossed green salad and grapes. Help yourself to as much as you like, select a good French red from the wine list and 'bon appétit'. The buffet opens at 20:00. The restaurant often has live music as well. It's upstairs at the squash courts in baie de l'Orphelinat - look for the building with a turtle on the green wall. It's wise to book in advance.
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Jeudi du Centre Ville Street Market
A wildly popular street market. There's a different theme every Thursday. The schedule is outlined in NC Pocket which you can pick up at Office du Tourisme de Nouméa et de la Province Sud. Some favourite annual themes are Loyalty Islands Thursday, Northern Province Thursday and Tahiti Thursday when there are numerous traditional dances, arts and crafts, fresh produce, and cakes and local dishes.
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Cathédrale St Joseph
Cathédrale St Joseph sits on a slope just above the city centre. Its construction, by convicts, began in 1888. It has beautifully colourful stained-glass windows and elaborate carvings on the pulpit, altar panels and confessional. There's more carved panelling behind the altars in the side chapels. The main entrance is generally locked, but you should find the side doors open.
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Plages Loisirs
Plages Loisirs, beneath the tourist information faré on the beach front at Anse Vata, hires water-sports equipment. It also operates taxi-boats to the nearby islets Ilôt Canard and Ilôt Maître. Some of the hotels at baie des Citrons and Anse Vata give guests an activities pass that entitles them to free use of snorkelling equipment at Plages Loisirs.
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Le Petit Train
These miniature trains are a fun way to discover Noumea. They run a circular tour from Anse Vata to the city centre and on to Parc Zoologique et Forestier before heading back to Anse Vata. They also run from Anse Vata to the Tjibaou Cultural Centre on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Purchase tickets from the driver or from Amac Tours at Galerie Palm Beach in Anse Vata.
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La Crêperie Bretonne
This cosy family restaurant in Trianon is decorated in typical Breton style. It serves galettes (thin, savoury pancakes) and crepes. You can sit outdoors on a covered veranda but if you choose to sit indoors you can watch the chef preparing the crepes. The service is fast and friendly and the crepes are deliciously filling. It's just off route de l'Anse Vata.
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