The Best Bar in Guadeloupe

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Reviews Updated by

Z
Jane Zarem

Guadeloupeans maintain that the beguine began here, and for sure, the beguine and mazurkas were heavily influenced by the European quadrille and orchestrated melodies. Their merging is the origin of West Indian music, and it gave birth to zouk (music with an African-influenced Caribbean rhythm) at the beginning of the 1980s. Still the rage here, it has spread not only to France but to other European countries. Many resorts have dinner dancing or offer regularly scheduled entertainment by steel bands and folkloric groups.

Bar de la Vieille Tour

The atmospheric piano bar, with its planters' chairs and whirring fan blades, is as memorable as Rick's Café in Casablanca. The terrace tables give you the best views of the Caribbean through multicolored bougainvillea. Accras (salt-fish fritters), peanuts, and olives usually arrive with your cocktail, which will be as tasty as it is pretty. A bar menu offers a selection of tapas, and the rum cart is extensive—some available by the flight. The barman makes a perfect piña colada and creates a nightly cocktail du jour. On Wednesday and Friday evenings, there's live piano music; in high season, more live music—like a jazz trio.