Saint-Pierre and Miquelon: What to See and Do on France's North Atlantic Islands
Did you know that there’s a piece of France in North America? The islands known as Saint-Pierre et Miquelon are the only part
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon: What to See and Do on France's North Atlantic Islands
Did you know that there’s a piece of France in North America? The islands known as Saint-Pierre et Miquelon are the only part of the French colonial empire in North America that remains under French control—and they're just 16 miles off the coast of Canada.
Ile aux Marins is one of the eight islands in the SPM archipelago.
The #1 must-see is Ile aux Marins (Sailor's Island). It’s an island preserved the way it was back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when traditional fishermen lived there, before modern technology rendered them obsolete. Ile aux Marins is the soul of SPM and tells the story of its heritage and history as a bustling center of the French fishing industry.
Here’s where the ferry from Saint-Pierre drops you off on Ile aux Marins.
Ile aux Marins is just a 15-minute ferry ride from Saint-Pierre. The ferry costs two euros and goes back and forth between Saint-Pierre and Ile aux Marins every two hours in summertime.
_"Fluctuat nec mergitur" means "It is tossed by the waves but doesn't sink.”
You can take a three-hour island tour on offer from the tourist information office in Saint-Pierre, or you can explore it by yourself. I recommend both, in that order.
If the weather's nice, bring a picnic! Take the island tour in the morning, then stay on the island after the other tourgoers leave so you can explore on your own.
After your picnic, go for a stroll.
Ile aux Marins is half museum, half summer home for descendants of the SPM families who once lived there and have kept houses there. The houses have wind power and generators; people live in them only in the summertime.
On the island you'll find freshly painted, well-preserved houses…
…as well as weathered, disheveled ones. These houses were inhabited by large families of cod fishermen a hundred years ago.
A weathered window on Ile aux Marins.
The Musée Archipélitude
The island's Musée Archipélitude displays a wealth of artifacts that explain SPM's heritage. Our tour guide told us that “archipélitude” translates to something like “colonial inhabitants of the archipelago.”
The museum's preserved schoolroom.
“Vive la France!” says the blackboard.
Musée Archipélitude, Ile aux Marins
There’s also a room housing artifacts from the 1971 wreck of Poseidon Line's Transpacific, a German ship that sunk in SPM waters.
Apparently 600 shipwrecks have occurred off SPM in the past 150 years.
The museums on Ile aux Marins contain some wacky artifacts—like this melted cash register, rescued from the ashes of a fire in Saint-Pierre.
Back on Saint-Pierre, we signed up for a private Saint-Pierre island tour in a minivan with Jean-Claude of Le Caillou Blanc. It cost $20 per person for 1.5 hours and was our second favorite activity in SPM. Jean-Claude is a lovely man and brought bread for feeding horses in fields along our route.
Since most places and activities in SPM are closed on Sunday mornings, but Jean-Claude was available, we booked him for Sunday morning—and that proved to be a wise use of our limited time in SPM.
The lighthouse at Pointe aux Canons.
This lighthouse at the entrance to the harbor is a symbol of Saint-Pierre, and from Jean-Claude's car we got to see it from many viewpoints.
A traditional "cabestan," which means capstan or boat winch.
The backdrop is the island of Langlade.
Home of the Prefect of SPM.
This is the prettiest house I saw on the island of Saint-Pierre. The Prefect, who lives there, is appointed by the President of France.
North America’s only guillotine—at L’Arche Musée et Archives
My second favorite SPM museum, after the Musée Archipélitude, was the Musée Heritage, conveniently located off Saint-Pierre's main square, just a one-minute walk from the tourist information office. But the guillotine is at L’Arche Musée, about a ten-minute walk from the square, along the waterfront.
Fortune, Newfoundland, is the remote town, a five-hour drive from the capital of St. John’s, where you catch the ferry to SPM.
There are two ways to get to Saint-Pierre et Miquelon. One is to take the Saint-Pierre Ferry from Fortune, Newfoundland—a tiny, charmless town at the southern tip of the Burin Peninsula, about a five-hour drive from St. John’s. The other is to fly there on Air Saint-Pierre. As someone who took the ferry, I am telling you to fly—if you can make the infrequent service work for your schedule (I couldn't). Flying is quicker and more comfortable, and Air Saint-Pierre is apparently ver