Is Marigot a 1/2 day (or more) kind of place?

[dj4eyes]

Hi!

We'll be in St. Martin this October, and are wondering how much time we should plan to spend in Marigot...

Last October was our first visit to the island. We went directly to Orient Beach... nice, but too many bathing suits!
(We stayed so long we almost missed our ship!)
ANYWAY... been there done that, so...

Is Marigot a good place to spend most of the day? (We love French culture, but don't speak a [I]word[/I] of French... the reports I've seen don't mention much about a language barrier.)
Is it scenic? Are there enough shops/restaurants to fill most of a day?

Thanks so much for any helpful hints!

[img]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/pc/78.gif[/img] Mark

[Chas_P]

Yes, it could be easy it spend a 1/2 day there.

Depending on how you're getting the, the first thing to do is to check out Fort Loius. If you're going by cab, you could have them drop you off there walk walk back into town since it would be downhill. It has both some good history and views of the town and Anguilla.

You could also spend a good bit of time at the flea market at the various stands. Good for spices if you cook.

The town itself, is somewhat scenic in that there are a lot of shops with small streets. You could have lunch at the marina and do some shopping. These are more the higher end stores with French fashions and goods.

You won't need French except in some smaller stores, but it is helpful to know some of the common phrases since it is appreciated.

[dj4eyes]

Thanks so much for the info!
Very helpful!

[img]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/pc/78.gif[/img] Mark

[dj4eyes]

Any more info from anyone else?? [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[img]http://www.addis-welt.de/smilie/smilie/pc/78.gif[/img] Mark

[kal]

You can spend lots of time in Marigot but you'll need to plan carefully as the vast majority of shops close from about noon to 2:00pm (or so). Some restaurants are also closed. The shops open at about 9:30am so you will want to be in Marigot at that time.

The open air market stays open most of the day. Make sure you get over to Rue Charles de Gualle [url="http://www.caribbean-on-line.com/sm/mgmap.shtml"](see map)[/url]and Port La Royale. Near the southeast corner of Port La Royale is [url="http://www.sxm-shopping.com/vinissimo/"]Vinissimo[/url], an excellent French wine shop. Also, take the little climb up to Fort de Marigot for an excellent view of the the north side of the island.

You don't need to speak French at all.