French Guiana

French Guiana is situated on the northeast coast of South America and is bordered by Brazil and by Surinam to the west. Along the coast runs a belt of flat marshy land behind which the land rises to higher slopes and plains or savannah. The interior is comprised of equatorial jungle. Off the rugged coast lie the Iles du Salut and Devil’s Island. Cayenne, the capital and chief port, is on the island of the same name at the mouth of the Cayenne River. Cayenne, French Guiana’s atmospheric capital and chief port offers a number of attractive sights. Points of interest include the Jesuit-built residence of the Prefect in the Place de Grenoble and the Botanical Gardens. The main French Space Centre was built in Kourou. Ultra-modern buildings now dominate the city. Tourist attractions include tours of the space centres and bathing or fishing in the Sporting and Aero Club. Continental, Vietnamese, Chinese, Creole and Indonesian cusinine can be sampled in most restaurants. There is good nightlife in Cayenne, Kourou and St Laurent du Maroni.