St Barthélemy / Places of Interest

The interest of St Barths lies mainly in its activities (beaches, watersports, restaurants, shopping) and, if you are so inclined, its people, who you can watch, but the island has a few quieter pleasures too. There are a few things to interest you if you take the time to look around the island.

Places of interest on St Barthelemy include:

The Inter Oceans Museum, Corossol - Set in the local St Barthian area of Corossol, this is more a collection than a museum, and not exactly sexily presented either, just rows and rows and rows of shells from around the world. It is, however, wonderfully compulsive, the result of one man’s overweening passion, and an extraordinary display of nature’s truly extraordinary intricacy, beauty and variety. It is impossible to describe, but incalculably beautiful. Only 400 of the 3,000 types of shell are from the Caribbean region, but there are several “world records” in size. Entry €3.

Gustavia - Capital of the island, Gustavia is a very pretty town and is also the only place where a visible connection remains to the Swedes that owned the island for about a century.

Wall House Museum, Gustavia - set in a restored Swedish warehouse next to the Town Hall.

For more detailed information see Historical Sites or Museums under the Culture & Heritage section.