Noumea
This is the heart of the city. The square slopes gently from east to west and at the top is a band rotunda, a famous landmark dating back to the late…
Must-see attractions in South Pacific
Grande Terre
Built in 1871, this historic fort originally held convicts brought to the area to build roads. Following a revolt by local Kanaks against French colonial…
Grande Terre
This 4500-hectare park, in the mountains above Farino, features tropical rainforest with rich and varied flora and fauna. As the name suggests, tree ferns…
Grande Terre
North of Koné, near the township of Voh, there’s a mangrove swamp which has developed some unusual natural designs. The most intriguing is a perfect heart…
Port Vila
This popular and photogenic swimming spot is 10km from Port Vila. A series of clear aquamarine pools terrace up the hillside, culminating in an impressive…
Loyalty Islands
It may seem unusual to recommend a road bridge as a top sightseeing spot, but at Pont de Mouli, Ouvéa’s tip, Mouli island, is cut off by a wide channel…
Noumea
Orientated east–west, this popular beach is a hotspot for visitors to Noumea, with hotels, restaurants, shopping and other attractions. Only 10 minutes…
Noumea
Orientated north–south and less than 10 minutes from the city centre, trendy Baie des Citrons attracts locals and visitors alike. The beach is great for…
Noumea
This aquarium is stunning. Species found in New Caledonian waters – including nautilus, sea snakes, stone fish, turtles, sharks and stingrays – have…
Loyalty Islands
Seven kilometres east of La Roche by sealed road is this gap in the cliffs, 5m wide and 30m above the pounding surf. Legend tells of a warrior who escaped…
Île des Pins
At Baie de St Maurice, this statue commemorates the arrival of the first missionaries on the island and is also a war memorial. There's a solemn line of…
Parc Provincial de la Rivière Bleue
Grande Terre
Protected Blue River Park is a reserve for many bird species, including the cagou. The landscape is a mixture of the far south’s typical scrub vegetation…
Grande Terre
Directly below Balade Church, this monument, a large Kanak flag, was unveiled on 24 September 2011, 158 years to the day after France took possession of…
Luganville
Trek and trudge through the jungle, across creeks, along bamboo bridges and through cascades to this massive cave, 20m wide and 50m high, about 15km from…
Loyalty Islands
The large memorial in Wadrilla is a tribute to 19 Kanaks who died in 1988, when French military personnel stormed a cave to free French gendarmes being…
Port Vila
This excellent museum, in a soaring traditional building opposite the parliament, has a well-displayed collection of traditional artefacts such as tamtam …
Espiritu Santo
At the end of the sealed road you come to Port Olry, a small francophone fishing village with a stunning curve of white-sand beach and eye-watering…
Noumea
This colourful multi-hexagonal-shaped market is beside the marina at Port Moselle. Fishermen unload their catch; trucks offload fruit, vegetables and…
Loyalty Islands
The highlight of Ouvéa is its magnificent beach and lagoon. While the east coast of the island is mainly rough cliffs pounded by the Pacific Ocean, the…
Chapelle Notre Dame de Lourdes
Loyalty Islands
At the large white cross at Easo, stay on the coast road to a parking area below the small Chapelle Notre Dame de Lourdes. Steps lead up the hill to the…
Île des Pins
This impressive cave tunnels into a limestone cliff at the end of a path through wild tropical gardens. Queen Hortense, wife of a local chief, is believed…
Grande Terre
Hienghène’s renowned Poule Couveuse (Brooding Hen) rock formation sits on one side of the entrance to Baie de Hienghène, facing the Sphinx on the other…
Loyalty Islands
About 3km south of Tadine is a large Aquarium Naturelle, a rockpool sunk in the cliffs and linked to the sea. Watch for Napoleon fish, perroquettes,…
Loyalty Islands
The southwest coast has several gorgeous beaches where you can swim or snorkel during the day and watch the glorious sunsets in the evening, but best of…
Noumea
The beautiful colonial-style Musée de la Ville de Noumea, which overlooks Place des Cocotiers, is dwarfed by towering palm trees. It features fascinating…
Loyalty Islands
A stretch of fine white sand bordering a stunning lagoon. Locals boast that it is New Caledonia’s most beautiful beach. The sheltered bay is a renowned…
Tanna
Peering down into the rumbling, exploding lava storm of Mt Yasur is a sight you won't soon forget. The active volcano is so accessible that 4WD vehicles…
Ambrym
The guided climb up these twin volcanoes is reasonably demanding and the view is often obscured by low cloud and volcanic smoke and ash. But on a clear…
Noumea
The cultural centre is a tribute to a pro-independence Kanak leader Jean-Marie Tjibaou, who was assassinated in 1989. It sits in a peaceful woodland and…
Noumea
Mwâ Ka is erected in a landscaped square opposite Musée de Nouvelle-Calédonie. The 12m totem pole is topped by a grande case (chief’s hut), complete with…
Grande Terre
Nine kilometres east of Bourail on RT1 is the well-tended New Zealand War Cemetery, where over 200 NZ soldiers killed in the Pacific during WWII are…
Grande Terre
If you do any driving around Grande Terre, you're bound to be stunned by the number of old churches. It seems that every village has at least one. At…
Grande Terre
An old stone building 500m south of the town centre houses the Musée de Bourail. Its displays include objects relating to the presence of US and NZ troops…
Luganville
Million Dollar Point, where hundreds of tonnes of US military equipment was dumped, now shows its coral-encrusted machinery to snorkellers and divers. At…
Port Vila
Iririki is the green, bungalow-laden island right across from Port Vila’s waterfront; it was closed following Cyclone Pam in 2015 but is expected to…
Grande Terre
At Goro on the east coast the road passes beside Wadiana falls, which cascade down a rocky slope into a natural pool where you can swim.
Tanna
Tanna’s best anchorage is this beautiful bay with magnificent cliffs and easy access to east Tanna's best beaches. The Ireupuow village has a basic shop,…
Port Vila
Just 100m or so offshore from Mele Beach, Hideaway Island isn't all that hidden but it's one of Vila's favourite spots for snorkelling, diving or just…
Noumea
This islet, about 20km south of Noumea, is famous for its tall white lighthouse, Phare Amédée (admission 200 CFP), which was built in France, shipped out…
Grande Terre
Once a convict centre, Prony sits in a lush hollow surrounded by forest beside Baie de Prony. A stream runs through the village of corrugated-iron…
