Pointe-à-Pitre

Pointe-à-Pitre is a fairly uninviting place – a graffiti-sprayed concrete jungle of art-deco and socialist-style architecture, decaying traditional houses and terrible traffic – but it's the main town on Grande-Terre and, due to its central location between Guadeloupe's two biggest islands, it serves as the de facto capital. It's well worth getting off the beach for half a day to visit, if only to see the superb Mémorial ACTe, a world-class museum dedicated to the history of slavery and colonialism. The first of its kind in the world, Mémorial ACTe has quickly become the closest Guadeloupe has to a national museum and it's an absolute must-see for anyone interested in the history and culture of these islands.

Pointe-à-Pitre is a ghost town on Sunday, on national holidays and after dark, and is best avoided at these times.