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Restaurants in Grand Case and everywhere else of the French side are NOT doing the 1 dollar = 1 Euro when you pay in cash even though they put it on their websites. May be in some small grocery shops they might still do it (happened to me only once) but overall this deal is no more.
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St Martin is part Guadeloupe and that is where people are posting about the French side of the island, so perhaps you would like to look there for more tips. Leave a Comment
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Very interesting to look up from the patio at lunch and see a French flag flying. The French side of the island is still under French control. The Dutch side is now independently-ruled. Leave a Comment
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Cruise ships dock at the Great Bay several days a week. Stores in the Great Bay are only open when the cruise ships are in town, generally from 10-2. You can check the local paper for a schedule of cruise ship arrivals and time your visit to Philipsburg around that. Otherwise you will be disappointed. Leave a Comment
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Make sure you go to Marigot and have a look around.
Being able to experience two different "countries" on the same island. On the French side, it really feels like France. The street signs are different, the language is different...everything. Leave a Comment
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Marigot is a small town on the French side of the island. There is no beach access here. However this is the harbour where daily ferryies to neighboring Anguilla and St. Barts can be found. There is also a considerable amount of dining and boutique choices. It does have somewhat of a European flair to it. It is definitely the most charming of all the beach towns. One thing to note is that with the exception of restaurants, almost all of the shops close down between 1-3 each day and are closed on Sundays. Leave a Comment
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Paralleling Front Street in Philipsburg, facing South, lies Great Bay Beach. The beach is long of over a mile, and wide. So there is plenty of fine white sand to lie on.
The waters are clear and calm. Great Bay is ok for swimming, but also a favorite place for beach strollers, as you can watch the coming and going of cruise ships in the harbor.
Front Street and the board walk have recently undergone substantial remodeling and reconstruction, which significantly upgrades this attractive spot. The area is close to the cruise ship dock, which makes it a favorite place for short term visitors, too. Leave a Comment
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St. Maarten is the only island that's divided between 2 countries (Netherlands Antilles and France) without any problems between the 2 sides. How did the division take place?
The Legend of the Drunken Dutchman
According to popular legend, the final division of the island between the Dutch and the French was settled with a race.
A Dutchman and a Frenchman stood back-to-back and started to circumnavigate the island on foot. It is claimed that the starting point is the area known today at Oyster Pond; the Frenchman was ordered to walk North along the coast while the Dutchman was to go South. The spot where the two would meet, would determine the border.
The legend has it, that the Dutchman walked with a flask of old Dutch Gin, and the Frenchman, true to his roots, carried a flask of wine. The Frenchman managed to cover much more ground than his rival, and won France the larger portion of the island - 21 square miles. The Dutchman, who it is claimed covered less because he stopped for several gin-breaks ended up with only 16 square miles of territory. Leave a Comment
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The island has a French side (St. Martin) and a Dutch side (Sint Maarten). You can get French wine at any grocery or liquor store very inexpensively. Leave a Comment
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