Cap Excellence

Located in eastern Basse-Terre and part of Greater Pointe-à-Pitre, Baie-Mahault serves as the gateway to the island for those coming from Grande-Terre. Considered the archipelago’s economic powerhouse, Baie-Mahault is today the vital center of Guadeloupe.

Originally named the Marquisate of Houêlbourg after its first governor, Charles Houêl, the town was rechristened Baie-Mahault in the 18th century in reference to the mahoe, a type of mangrove tree used to make rope for sailing ships.

It includes the Guadeloupe International Airport as well as the Jarry business district, which you’re bound to experience.

First established as a parish in 1726, Les Abymes is the most populous city in Guadeloupe. Surrounded by swamps, mangroves and the gulf, the city gets its name (according to Père Labat) from the mist that forms from evaporation, which the locals called the “shroud of the savannah”.

Its dramatic history includes the slavery period, strikes by farmworkers and hurricanes, and it was only in 1846 that Les Abymes was established at its current location.

Built on Calvary Hill between 1855 and 1858 under the supervision of the Abbé Poujade, the Church of the Immaculate Conception, with its sculpture of Notre Dame de Guadeloupe, won’t fail to impress you!

Les Abymes is a booming city that absorbed several adjacent towns during the 1960s (Grand-Camp, Le Raizet, Petit-Pérou, La Croix, etc.) and has now emerged as a truly vibrant community.

Home to Guadeloupe’s Pointe-à-Pitre International Airport, Les Abymes offers an easy gateway to the islands of Guadeloupe!

Located at the center of the Guadeloupe butterfly, Pointe-à-Pitre is also the island’s economic heart. Once a vast swamp surrounded by mountains until English settlers began construction there in 1759, Pointe-à-Pitre is now the subprefecture for Guadeloupe.

After the revolution, Victor Hugues expelled the English invaders and named the city’s famous square the “Place de la Victoire”.

And while the city hasn’t been spared by natural catastrophe, including hurricanes, earthquakes and fire, it has always come back. With its museums, public buildings, markets and port, the city certainly has no shortage of attractions to draw you in!

Pointe-à-Pitre is part of the larger municipal area known as CAP Excellence that includes the communes of Les Abymes and Baie-Mahault, and serves as the hub of the entire archipelago.