Cayenne

Cayenne is located on the Atlantic coast, on marshland surrounded by hills. The city was founded in 1643 by the French and was part of the Dutch, English and Portuguese colonial empire during the following century. Today a third of the department's inhabitants live in Cayenne. Downtown is small and the houses are typically Caribbean.
On Sundays, almost everything is closed. If you arrive on a Sunday, the only thing to do on your first vacation day is walking around in an almost deserted city.

Climate

The climate is what you would expect this close to the Equator. The temperature is constant around +25-30°C while it's raining heavily for most of the year.

By plane

French Guiana's main international airport is

Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airportlocated in the commune of Matoury, a southern suburb of Cayenne. There are two flights a day to Paris Orly Airport (not CDG) served by Air France and Air Caraïbes. Moreover there are flights from Martinique, Guadeloupe, Paramaribo and Belém.

There are no buses to the airport, so your alternatives are to rent a car or take a taxi (€35 to central Cayenne).

By road

From both neighboring countries, you will need to cross a river by ferry into French Guiana. From Brazil, you will arrive in Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock from where you can travel by bus to Cayenne with a transfer in Régina. From Suriname you will step off the ferry in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni from where you can take a bus to Iracoubo and transfer to another going to Cayenne.
If you've brought a car, the road is paved from both borders towns to Cayenne.

• Cayenne has a public bus network of five lines. The fare is €1,10.
• Your other options are obviously car, taxi, foot or bike.

• Place des PalmistesA park with high palm trees, lively in the nighttime.

• Place des AmandiersA square frequented by young couples in the evening.

• Jardin botaniqueThe well kept botanical garden of Cayenne is worth a visit.

• Cayenne city hall

• Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur de CayenneCayenne's cathedral is a major landmark, the seat of the Diocese of Cayenne and a National Monument of France.

• Musée Départemental Franconie

  phone: +594 29 59 13
  address: 1, avenue du général de Gaulle
  A museum of the animals of the region, Amerindian and Creole art, and exhibitions about the history of French Guiana, daily life in the penal colony and the colonial administrator and humanist Félix Éboué, perhaps the most significant person from the region.

• Musée des Cultures Guyanaises

  phone: +594 31 41 72
  address: 78, rue Madame Payé
  Exhibitions of the daily life of the different populations in the region including traditional clothing and art, a reconstruction of a carbet (traditional shelter) as well as a documentation center.

• Salines de MontjolyA conservation area consisting of a sand beach, dunes and a mangrove forest.

• Fort DiamantA 19th century fort, nowadays a Monument Historique (French National Heritage Site).

There are sand beaches in the eastern part of Cayenne, and the sea is good for surfing.

Carnival

Guianese Carnival takes place between Epiphany in early January and Ash Wednesday in February or March. On the weekend people put on their carnival dresses and dance in the streets through the night. The most remarkable are the ladies' colorful touloulou dresses. The dancing groups show the ethnic diversity of French Guiana. In the main parade that is held on the last Sunday of the carnival dancing schools (similar to those in Rio de Janeiro) perform. The most famous of them are Chiré Band, Réno Band, Kassialata, Manaré and Piraye.

• Le Marché aux légumesA place to buy local agricultural products, or just to expericence a lively market in the tropics.

• Marché d'Intérêt RégionalAt the fish market you can buy fresh fish.

• For souvenir shopping head for the Trois Fontaines shops and other shops in the downtown. Good souvenirs are objects carved out of wood and exotic objects of art.

The restaurants of Cayenne reflects the ethnic mosaic of the Guyanese society; you will find Creole, French, Chinese, Lebanese and Javanese restaurants here.

Budget

In general the Chinese restaurants are the most affordable places to have a meal with dishes around €15-20. On Place des Palmistes there are also carts selling hamburgers and Javanese dishes.

• Jin Le Yuan

  phone: +594 43 17 88
  address: 33 rue Lieutenant Brasse
  Chinese restaurant.

• Le Vrai Régal

  phone: +594 27 16 31
  address: 60 bd Jubelin
  A sandwich joint.

• Abriba

  phone: +594 31 98 73
  address: 33 rue des Dahlias (quartier Bonhomme)
  Creole restaurant

Ice cream

• Iceberg

  address: rue Lalouette

Mid-range

• Hippopotamus

  phone: +594 27 40 16
  address: 23 rue Léon Gontrand Damas (place des Palmistes)
  French restaurant.

• La Taverne

  phone: +594 29 04 66
  address: 26 rue Mole
  French restaurant.

• Mille Pâtes

  phone: +594 28 91 80
  address: 52 rue Justin Catayée
  French restaurant.

• Bar des Palmistes

  phone: +594 300 050
  address: 12 av du Gén de Gaulle (place des Palmistes)
  Creole and French restaurant.

• L'Entracte

  phone: +594 30 01 37
  address: 65 r Justin Catayée
  French restaurant.

• La Petite Maison

  phone: +594 38 58 39
  address: 23 r Félix Eboué
  French restaurant.

Splurge

• Le Paris Cayenne

  phone: +594 31 76 17
  address: 59 rue Lallouette
  French cuisine, likely the finest restaurant in Cayenne.

Except for the carnival weeks, the nightlife isn't as wild as in many other Latin American destinations. There are some nice bars in Cayenne downtown. Nightclubs are generally located in the periphery of the city.

• Le Moonlight Discothèque

  address: route de Montabo chemin Grant

• Le Bar des PalmistesA bit expensive, for instance a Ricard is €5. This is however one of the few places open on Sunday.

• La BodegaA small sympathetic bar with good ambience.

• Le Lido Night

• L'Exotica

• L'Iguana CaféAn air conditioned bar lounge in central Cayenne.

Good hotels exist, but they can be relatively expensive.

Budget

• Hotel Ket TaiNothing fancy but clean and a few minutes walk from Place des Palmistes.

Mid-range

• Central Hôtel de Cayenne

  phone: +594 25 65 65
  address: rue Mole

• Best Western Amazonia

  phone: +594 28 83 00
  address: 28 Avenue du Général de Gaulle

Splurge

• Grand Hotel Montabo

  phone: +594 303888
  address: Chemin Hilaire Rue De Montabo

From Cayenne you can relatively easy get to other parts of the department or to the neighboring countries overland. Kourou boasts a space centre and the Devil's Island archipelago. To get a taste of the rainforest of inner Guiana you can take a domestic flight for instance to Saül.