It's so très chic, with all its French trappings like lovelies modeling bathing suits on the beach and compact little Euro cars zipping around the narrow streets. Even most of the visitors are French, escaping their Paris ennui by descending en masse to their treasured little butterfly island deep in the heart of the Caribbean Sea. Guadeloupe shines among the family of Caribbean islands as an affluent and self-assured country with cosmopolitan flair bordered by beaches and coral reefs on one wing and open lands with the verdant, volcanic peaks of the Parc National on the other. The eastern wing, Grand-Terre, is dry, flat, and sandy with the best beaches in the country, which of course led to the development of its many restaurants, casinos, resorts, and clubs. Basse-Terre, the western wing, is wild, wet, and mountainous, and though it once went largely unnoticed by visitors, it nowhosts streams of whale-watchers, hikers, divers, and deep-sea anglers.

Only about 10% of the island is supported by tourism, relying still on its great success with sugar. At harvest time, the fields stir with workers cutting cane the old-fashioned way with machetes. Bringing together the best of its combined European and Caribbean heritage, Guadeloupe is an interesting mix of urban buzz and pristine scenery, suffused with an irresistible Creole flair.