Savannah Park , Fort-de-France, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

Savannah Park (La Savane) is a five-hectare green space in the centre of Fort-de-France, Martinique, open to the bay and unfenced on every side. It began as the Jardin du Roi, a scientific garden, and today it is the city's main open lawn and a good place to start understanding Martinique's layered history.

The story behind it

Before it was a public park, this land was the Jardin du Roi, the King's Garden. Its first purpose was practical rather than pleasant: it served as a space for botanical experiments on plants newly introduced to the colony.

The park is also tied to Joséphine de Beauharnais, who was born in Martinique and became the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte. She remains one of the island's best-known and most complicated figures, admired for her grace and criticised over the reintroduction of slavery in the French colonies. Martinique holds her memory with a clear-eyed ambivalence, and you will find her name on the edge of the park, for instance in the restaurant L'Impératrice.

What to look for

• The openness of the park toward the bay, where the water shows how closely the city and the sea are linked.
• The mature trees that shade the paths, a reminder of the garden's botanical origins.
• The statue area devoted to Joséphine, which has long been a focus of debate and shows how contested her memory is.
• The restaurant L'Impératrice on the park's edge, whose name quietly pays tribute to the island's most famous daughter.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 30 to 45 minutes for a slow loop of the park, longer if you stop for a drink at one of the cafes around it.
• Go in the morning or late afternoon, when the heat is softer and the light on the bay is at its best.
• The park is open on all sides, so there is no gate to pass through, and you can wander in at any time of day.
• It sits in the heart of town, so it combines easily with the nearby streets, shops and waterfront. Check current opening hours for anything you want to enter.

See it on a quest

Fort-de-France Highlights brings you to Savannah Park on foot as one stop on a longer route through the city centre. The app tells you about each place as you arrive, and you solve a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you look at the park rather than just pass it. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group.