Description
French Guiana is an overseas department and region of France on the north Atlantic coast of South America. It borders Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west.
Its 83,534 km² area has a very low population density of less than 3 inhabitants per km², with half of its 239,450 people in 2012 living in the metropolitan area of Cayenne, its capital.
By land area, it is by far the largest overseas region of France. A large part of the department’s economy derives from the presence of the Guiana Space Centre (Centre Spatial Guyanais), now the European Space Agency’s primary launch site near the equator.
Map
List of sights
1,873 Photos
Acarouany
87 Photos
The Acarouany leprosarium is a historical monument of French Guiana located in the town of Mana. In the 18th century, leprosy, imported by European settlers …
Annamite Prison
42 Photos
The Bagne des Annamites was established in June 1930 and consisted of seven wood buildings with the house of the camp leaders, dungeons and a dining hall. …
Awala-Yalimapo
15 Photos
Awala-Yalimapo is a commune on the north coast of French Guiana, close to the border with Suriname. Awala and Yalimapo are French Guiana’s northern-most …
Cacao
80 Photos
Cacao is a town in French Guiana, lying on the Comte River to the south of Cayenne. Most of the town’s population are Hmong farmers, refugees from Laos …
Camp Caiman
34 Photos
Located 40 km from Roura, near the Camp Caiman, this cave where hundreds of bats are living, sinks into the ground. Tree roots will pick water through cracks …
Cayenne
42 Photos
Cayenne is the capital of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The city is located on the banks of the estuary …
Dam Petit Saut
88 Photos
The dam of Petit-Saut is a dam located in the department of French Guiana between the towns of Sinnamary and Saint-Élie. Its dam lake, with an area of about …
Diamond Fortification
10 Photos
The Fort Diamant is a castle near Rémire-Montjoly in French Guiana whose construction began in 1840 and ended in 1849. It is a building of 150 m² built …
Engraved Rocks of Carapa
74 Photos
The Engraved Rocks of Carapa (Roches Gravées de la Carapa), rediscovered in 1992, is the largest set of rock carvings discovered in French Guiana. The site, …
Engraved Rocks of Mahury
16 Photos
The seven Engraved Rocks of Mahury (Roches Gravées de Mahury) form a historic monument in French Guiana, registered as such by decree of the 8th of March …
Favard Mountain
18 Photos
The Engraved Rocks of the Favard Mountain (Montagne Favard) is an historical monument in French Guiana. The site is registered as an historic monument by …
Fourgassier Falls
11 Photos
The Fourgassier Falls (Chutes de Fourgassier) are located a few kilometres from Roura in direction of the Marais de Kaw.
French Guiana Zoo
52 Photos
The 160 acre of the French Guiana Zoo (Zoo de Guyane) in Macouria is home to over 70 native animal species, giving visitors the opportunity to admire the …
Gabriel Creek
27 Photos
The Gabriel Creek (Crique Gabriel) is often presented as the most beautiful creeks of French Guiana, but it is overall the nearest one to Cayenne (about …
Guiana Space Centre
206 Photos
The Guiana Space Centre or, more commonly, Centre Spatial Guyanais (CSG) is a French spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana. Operational since 1968, it …
Iracoubo
19 Photos
Iracoubo is a commune on the coast of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. The settlement of Iracoubo, seat …
Island of the Grand Constable
32 Photos
The Island of the Grand Constable (Île du Grand Connétable) is located 18 km off the mouth of the Approuague in French Guiana. With the Island of Small Constable …
Islet la Mère
70 Photos
The Islets of Rémire are a small archipelago of four islands off the town of Rémire-Montjoly (La Mère, Le Père, Le Malingre, Les Mamelles (two islets)). …
Kaw-Roura Marshland
80 Photos
The Kaw-Roura Marshland Nature Reserve (Kaw Marshland or Marais de Kaw) is one of six natural reserves created by the French government in French Guiana …
Kourou
36 Photos
★ For the photos of the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, follow this link.Kourou is located 60 km north-west of the capital Cayenne at the mouth of the Kourou River …
Kourou River
64 Photos
The Kourou is a river in French Guiana with a length of 112 km. The city of Kourou is at its mouth to the Atlantic Ocean. Its estuary is home to the marina. …
La Mirande Trail
42 Photos
The La Mirande Trail (Sentier de la Mirande) winds through the Mount Grand-Matoury, a nature reserve mainly populated by birds. The wildlife encounters …
Loyola Trail
22 Photos
On the Loyola Trail (Sentier de Loyola) are the vestiges of an immense colonial exploitation run by Jesuits.
Maripasoula
100 Photos
Maripasoula is a French commune in the department of French Guiana. The town, the largest in France, and one of the least densely populated, is the border …
Monkey Mountain
102 Photos
The Montagne des Singes (Monkey Mountain) is located south-west of the city of Kourou, 15 km towards the Dégrad Saramaca. It rises to 161 m and some tributaries …
Montsinéry - Tonnegrande
28 Photos
Montsinéry-Tonnegrande, formerly Viriot, is a commune of French Guiana. It is surrounded by rivers and mangroves.
Paul Isnard Track
34 Photos
The Piste Paul Isnard is a road in French Guiana. It is named after an old gold miner. At the end of the road, two sites were exploited: Citron and Paul Isnard …
Pripri de Yiyi
72 Photos
The great Pripri de Yiyi is located on the municipalities of Sinnamary and Iracoubo, and covers about 15,000 ha. This ecosystem occupies a central position …
Rorota Trail
43 Photos
With a length of 5 km, the Rorota Trail (Sentier du Rorota) connects the lakes of Rorota, of Lalouette and of Rémire in the municipality of Rémire-Montjoly …
Saint Jean du Maroni
19 Photos
Saint-Jean-du-Maroni is a town in French Guiana, in the commune of Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni on the Maroni River, directly opposite the Suriname Village of …
Saint Laurent du Maroni
8 Photos
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, called simply Saint-Laurent, is a French commune located in the department of French Guiana. In 2010, it was the second most populous …
Salines de Montjoly
66 Photos
The Salines de Montjoly along Montjoly beach, cross the coastal marshes and dune vegetation, and lead to the observatory of the Kwata association where …
Salvation Islands
168 Photos
The Iles du Salut (Salvation Islands) are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about 11 km from the coast of French Guiana (14 km north of Kourou …
Trésor Trail
48 Photos
The Tresor Trail (Sentier Trésor) is named after the Trésor mine, which was used for many years for its deposits of gold, then abandoned. The few remnants …
Trou Poissons - Cemetery of the Fathers
18 Photos
Between 1797 and 1799 more than a thousand priests were sentenced to transportation in French Guiana, because they refused to take the oath to the Civil Constitution of the Clergy …