Grande-Terre's standout village , PORT-LOUIS , is a fishing hamlet with mint-condition wooden colonial houses . The ambience alone is sufficient cause to stop here, but most people come for its magnificent beach, PLAGE DU SOUFFLEUR , a long golden band with a boardwalk hustled by locals churning divine coconut sorbet. At the southern end, Siwo Evasion , on rue de la Liberté (tel 0590/58 83 25 or 0650/55 19 10, ), rents jet skis and arranges guided outings to hard-to-reach beaches. Be sure to save some euros for La Paillote , a crumbling hacienda-style café nearby.

Heading south from Port-Louis, the N6 courses through unremarkable Petit Canal on its way to the cemetery at MORNE-À-L'EAU , 7km south. Hundreds of black-and-white-tiled mausoleums cover a hillside at the entrance of town with a recurring diamond motif that lends the impression of walking through a human-scale card game. From here, the N6 meets up with the N5 to reach Pointe-à-Pitre 15km later.