Fort St. Louis is St Maarten’s foremost historical attraction. The installation stands guard on a steep hill overlooking Marigot, the “capital” of French Saint Martin, looking over its wide bay. It was built in 1767 on the orders of France’s last pre-revolutionary king, Louis XVI.
The tricolor of republican France might wave over the fort these days but you can still see the formidable walls and cannons which protected the colonial settlement from other European powers as well as pirates. There is historical information posted around the site, but you will probably find your eyes keep wandering to the outstanding view, sweeping over the coastline and the Fort-Louis Marina and then out to sea, all the way to neighboring Anguilla.
Fort St. Louis is in the west coast town of Marigot, the largest settlement in the French part of the island.
