Visit French Guiana: when to go, entry rules and what to see

Cayenne, the capital, is a few streets around the Place des Palmistes and its Creole market on Wednesday and Saturday; Fort Cepere overlooks the harbour and the beaches of Remire-Montjoly host turtle nesting. An hour's drive away, Kourou lives to the rhythm of launches from the Guiana Space Centre, whose tour is free by reservation. Offshore, the Salut Islands, Royale, Saint-Joseph and Ile du Diable, keep the ruins of the penal colony that held Dreyfus and the model for Papillon; you get there by catamaran from Kourou.

Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, the former gateway to the penal colony, has kept the Transportation Camp and a colonial architecture nicknamed the little Paris. From there, the pirogue heads up the Maroni for hours toward the Bushinenge villages, descendants of runaway slaves, and Amerindian villages, as far as Maripasoula, which only an airstrip serves. Further north, Awala-Yalimapo, Kali'na land at the mouth of the river, borders Hattes beach where leatherback turtles nest from April to July.

The interior is reached only by pirogue or light aircraft, and no road penetrates it. The Kaw marshes, the department's largest wetland, are explored at night in search of black caimans, then at dawn for the birds. The Nouragues reserve holds a research station deep in the forest, with a canopy walkway and a granite inselberg. These stays are booked months ahead through specialist operators.