Must-see attractions in Tahiti

A Pape'ete institution. If you see one site in town, make it this market, which fills an entire city block. Shop for colourful pareu (sarongs), shell…

There’s a popular surf break just before the headland that signals the start of the small village of Papenoo. A long bridge crosses the Papenoo River at…

Part of Captain Cook’s mission on his three-month sojourn in 1769 was to record the transit of Venus across the face of the sun in an attempt to calculate…

The Territorial Assembly and other government buildings occupy Place Tarahoi, the former site of the Pomare palace. The termite-riddled 1883 palace was…

Bain de Vaima (Vaima Pool) is where locals come from all over to bathe in the icy but exceptionally clear waters that are thought to have healing…

Strategically situated at the narrow isthmus connecting Tahiti Nui with Tahiti Iti, the town of Taravao has been a military base on and off since 1844,…

Through the village of Tiarei where the road swoops around a black-sand beach, you’ll see a sign on the mountain side of the road for the exceedingly high…

The 137-hectare Jardins Botaniques has walking paths that wind their way through the garden past ponds, palms, a massive banyan tree and a superb mape…

Just east of the village of Papara, the Marae Mahaiatea was the most magnificent marae on Tahiti at the time of Cook’s first visit (according to Cook it…

This museum has been closed for years but hopefully it will reopen during the life of this book. The airy site surrounded by lush foliage is lovely, and…

Although the Catholic cathedral is placed squarely in the town centre, Tahiti remains predominantly Protestant, a lasting legacy of the LMS missionaries…

At the top of the hill at around PK8, pull off to the lagoon side of the road and park in the lot that once belonged to Tahiti’s very upmarket Hyatt…

Taking pride of place in the centre of town is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame.

In Arue, on the water’s edge, signposted and just a short detour off the coastal road, is the tomb of the last of the Pomare family. The Tomb of Pomare V…

This is the main walking area along the waterfront, where you’ll find paved walking paths that meander past blooming planter boxes and the occasional tree…

Teahupoo is world famous among surfing circles for its monster wave. Until the early 2000s, the Teahupoo wave was only known to local surfers. It now…

Just outside Pape’ete’s urban sprawl, the Lagoonarium is a pleasant tourist trap with a meshed-in area of lagoon with a modest underwater viewing room; it…

This pearl museum was created by pearl magnate Robert Wan with aims of luring visitors into his glamorous shop. It’s a worthwhile, small and modern museum…

Between 1891 and 1893, Paul Gauguin lived in Mataiea where he produced works including Two Women on the Beach, Woman with a Mango and Ia Orana Maria –…

This pearl museum was created by pearl magnate Robert Wan with aims of luring visitors into his glamorous shop. It’s a worthwhile, small and modern museum…