rex

We've had an itch to scratch for Maritime Canada for quite a while now, and are thinking about going there next June. And now I learn that the island of St Pierre Miquelon is sovereign France "terre", not Canadian... any Europhiles been there? (yes, I will post this on the Canada forum, but curious to hear the answers from other Europe forum friends) - - I m guessing that it is not terribly easy or cheap to get there... did it seem worth it? day trip? overnight? more? Any advice?

Obviously, I have not yet scratched the surface of doing my research, but I'm always learn some little tidbit about a destiation I never even heard of... figured there must be Euro-types out there who know the place!

Thanks in advance for any info... and...

Best wishes,

Rex

Pausanias

The New York Times had an article June 13, 2004: http://travel2.nytimes.com/mem/trave...55C0A9629C8B63.

In case you can't get in, the airfare from Halifax is about $380.00, ferry from Newfoundland about $60.00.

You stay on the smaller isalnd, St Pierre which has at least a couple of moderately priced hotels. You pay in Euros.

Always wanted to get there, but haven't yet.

Nimrod

As you probably have seen, searching for "St Pierre Miquelon" on the Canada forum (selecting neither a province nor 'general interest') brings up 8 threads -- dated perhaps, but still good general information/observations.

The second thread suggests this site:

http://www.st-pierre-et-miquelon.com/

rex

Thanks... I'll look that up.

I'm curious.. are there any/many other places in this hemisphere where the euro is the official currency?

AnselmAdorne

Rex, I suppose asking about Saint-Pierre et Miquelon on the Europe forum is about as off-topic as enquiring about, oh, Tahiti, for example ... they both have a French connection.

But I love off-topic posts, so here goes. If your yen for the Maritimes brings you to Nova Scotia, my advice would be to fly from Halifax (see www.airsaintpierre.com). Alternatively, if your vacation includes Newfoundland, you could drive down the Burin Penninsula to Fortune, leave your car there, and take the ferry across.

Despite having lived in Newfoundland for four years, I never did make it to Saint-Pierre. Everyone I ever met who went there said it was a great place for a short visit.

And there is no shortage of other wonderful things to do here in Atlantic Canada. If you do pass through Halifax, I hope you'll let me know--we could have a cup of coffee or a drink and talk about travel.

Anselm

Nikki

Rex, the euro is also the currency in Martinique.

jsmith

Rex, you might enjoy "The Widow of St. Pierre", a wonderful little movie.

kjosker

We went to St. Pierre in September 2000. Took the ferry to Newfoundland, drove up one peninsula and down another to catch a ferry to Miquelon. It was a quick ferry ride, less than an hour if I remember.

Sorry, I can't remember the name of the hotel we stayed at, but it was the one Al Capone stayed at. There are several hotels in St. Pierre. St. Pierre is not that big, it is entirely walkable.

To get a flavor of St. Pierre, I invite you to look at two pictures I took of St. Pierre lighthouses. They're at http://www.pbase.com/kjosker/miquelon
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge.

We stayed two nights, it was probably enough. I don't recall it being very expensive getting there, especially since we were going to Newfoundland anyway.

All in all, I enjoyed St. Pierre and Miquelon; the real test-yes I would return.

kjosker

I dug through my files and came up with the name of the hotel- The Robert.

St. Pierre Tours, 116 Duckworth St. St. John's, Newfoundland A1C 1E8; 1-709-722-3892. was very helpful in sending me information; I don't know if that address is still valid.

Try http://www.k12.nf.ca/lakeacademy/stpierre.htm
for beginning information.

The package rate WAS $179.00 Canadian per person for two nights at the Hotel Robert and round trip ferry fare.

jahoulih

Here's an article on the subject from last Sunday's Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel...&cset=true

Art_Vandelay

Rex, all three French départements in America use the Euro, namely: Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyane. Actually, if you have a Euro bill at home, you'll notice that on the bottom left of map of Europe there are four boxes containing three dots and one "stain": the latter is for Guyane, whereas the dots stand for Martinique, Guadeloupe and Réunion (a French island off the coast of Mauritius in the Indian ocean)

Voyager2006

I can more or less understand the desire to visit St. Pierre if for no other reason than to be able to say, "I've been there," and I have done this myself (to/in other locations).

However, having spent two years on the west coast of Newfoundland I would hope you would at elast consider visiting that provice as well as the other Maritimes. To go all the way to St. Pierre and Miquelon and bypas Newfoundland would be, in my opinion, a lost opportunity.