The best places to visit in French Guiana.

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni: Crique Tatou, set deep in the Amazon rainforest along the Paul Isnard track, offers clear, sandy-bottomed water and three carbets.

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni: the Voltaire stream and its falls are reached via the Paul Isnard track then a 3.3 km trail through remote terrain.

Near Saint-Georges, the Saut Maripa on the Oyapock River offers rapids, swimming, four hiking trails, and the remains of an early 20th-century railway.

Roura: Lac Pali, accessible only by water via Crique Gabriel, winds through marshland, mangrove and a forest of bâche palms.

Roura: the Molokoi Trail, French Guiana's longest waymarked trail at 18 km, crosses the equatorial forest with two trailheads and a free overnight shelter at the midpoint.

Apatou: Crique Cascade, between Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and Apatou, strings together small waterfalls over 300 to 400 m of clear, cool water.

In Montsinéry-Tonnégrande, the Bagne des Annamites penal colony can be explored via a 5 km trail: ruins of a penitentiary where Indochinese deportees were imprisoned.

Rémire-Montjoly: a protected coastal site 10 km from Cayenne where a beach, dune ridge, and wetland form a unique ecosystem, with a 2.5 km discovery trail.

In Rémire-Montjoly, the Loyola Jesuit estate is explored via a 2-hour trail: historic terraces, forest, and a view over the Ilet la Mère.

Sinnamary: the Pont de Madame de Maintenon, a 140-metre Bailey bridge erected in 1956, crosses the river in the heart of town.

In Cayenne, the mural BIEN GRILLÉES by artist Bassa pays tribute to a roasted peanut vendor, painted on the base of the lighthouse at Fort Cépérou.

Cayenne: the Museum of Guyanese Cultures presents Amerindian collections, colonial archives and contemporary art, with workshops and lectures.

Cayenne, French Guiana: the Saint-Sauveur Cathedral, a neoclassical building constructed between 1825 and 1833, is the seat of the Diocese of Cayenne.

In Cayenne, YUNAE by artist Bassa depicts a Kalin'a indigenous woman — both nurturer and warrior — inspired by the Voodoo deity Erzulie.

In the heart of Cayenne, the Place des Palmistes, lined with palm trees and historic buildings, hosts festivals, concerts, and food stalls in the evenings.

Cayenne: Fort Céperou, a listed historic monument on Mont Céperou, has dominated the city and the mouth of the Cayenne river since the 17th century.

Matoury, French Guiana: the Sentier des Américains, an easy 4.5 km loop through swamp forest, partly within the Mont Grand Matoury Nature Reserve.

In Cayenne, the Mont Bourda trail offers a 3.8 km loop through tropical rainforest leading to the Calvary, a concrete cross erected in 1961.

In Rémire-Montjoly, the Montagne Topu trail is a moderate 3.3 km hike (1h20) through tropical rainforest near Mont Mahury.

Roura: the Trésor Regional Nature Reserve, on the slopes of the Kaw mountain, offers two loop trails through tropical forest.

Rémire-Montjoly: an 18th-century sugar estate listed as a historic monument, reached via a 3.5 km waymarked trail at the foot of the Mahury plateau.

In Rémire-Montjoly, the Rorota Trail (6 km) winds through lush forest, passes three reservoirs, and offers views over the sea.

Matoury: the Mont Grand Matoury National Nature Reserve protects 2,129 hectares of peri-urban primary forest, crossed by three waymarked trails.

Sur une crête des marais de Kaw, une roche gravée par les Amérindiens il y a près de 1 750 ans, inscrite aux monuments historiques, accessible par un sentier de 1,4 km depuis le débarcadère du Dégrad de Kaw.