Grande-Terre is the eastern half of Guadeloupe, separated from Basse-Terre by the narrow Rivière Salée. Where Basse-Terre is volcanic, mountainous, and lush, Grande-Terre is flat, dry, and lined with beaches — the two halves of the butterfly-shaped island could hardly be more different.
The south coast from Sainte-Anne to Saint-François has the best beaches: long stretches of white sand backed by sea-grape trees. Plage de la Caravelle and Plage du Bourg are popular and well-served; the Pointe des Châteaux headland at the eastern tip offers dramatic cliffs and a wild Atlantic coastline.
Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe's economic capital, sits where the two islands meet. The city is noisy and chaotic but has a lively market and the Mémorial ACTe, a striking museum dedicated to the history of slavery in the Caribbean. Outside the city, Fort Fleur d'Épée at Le Gosier commands the coast with views that explain why the French and British fought over it for half a century.