The Place des Palmistes is the largest square in Cayenne and the de facto centre of city life. Vast royal palms rise above the lawns, statues, and a small bandstand; in the cool of the late afternoon, vendors set up grills selling chicken and skewers, and the city's various communities — Creole, Hmong, Brazilian, Surinamese, Metropolitan French — drift through.
The square is flanked by some of Cayenne's grandest colonial buildings, including the Préfecture and the Bibliothèque Franconie. On weekend evenings food stalls and live music turn it into the city's open-air living room. Stay alert after dark — petty crime is the city's main travel hazard.