Dating from the French foundation of the colony, Port Louis clocks in as the Falklands' oldest settlement and thus contains some of its oldest buildings. While the town's ivy-covered 19th-century farmhouse is still occupied by farmhands, the ruins of the French governor's house and Louis Vernet's settlement lie scattered nearby. Port Louis sits at the innermost point of Berkeley Sound, the easternmost inlet on East Falkland, about 35km (22mi) northwest of Stanley. It's best reached by car or a long day's walk.

Off East Falkland's southern coast, tiny Sea Lion is less than a mile across, but it teems with wildlife. Among the common sightings are five species of penguin, enormous cormorant colonies, giant petrels and the foolishly tame Johnny Rook, or striated caracara. Hundreds of elephant seals crowd the sandy beaches, while sea lions pepper the narrow gravel beaches below the island's southern bluffs. Thanks to the progressive farming techniques of past owners, the flora and fauna of the island flourished right alongside the farm's sheep, and Sea Lion is now one of the only working Falkland farms with any substantial cover of native tussock grass. The island and its lodge are popular with visitors from Stanley and Mt Pleasant, so transportation is easy to arrange.

In reality, the Falkland Islands' capital is little more than a village that, by historical accident, acquired a political status totally out of proportion to its size. As many of its homes and businesses were pieced together from locally quarried stone and timber salvaged from shipwrecks, Stanley has a certain ramshackle charm, accentuated by its brightly painted houses, sprawling kitchen gardens and the smell of peat fires drifting on the breeze.Probably the town's most photographed landmark, Government House has been the home of the islands' London-appointed governors since the mid-19th century. Just outside the building, there's a register of visitors that tradition insists you sign. Nearby, Christ Church Cathedral is a massive brick-and-stone construction with a colorfully painted metal roof and impressive stained-glass windows. It was completed in 1892 and now houses several plaques honoring the Falklands' war dead. On the small square next to the cathedral, look for the recently restored Whalebone Arch, commemorating the 1933 centenary of British rule in the Falklands. At the far western end of town, the Falkland Islands Museum is the local candle-burner for the islands' history.

East of Port Louis on Johnson's Harbour, Volunteer Beach provides a sheltered home for more than 150 breeding pairs of king penguins, the islands' largest colony. Several hours walk east of the beach, Volunteer Point hosts an offshore breeding colony of southern fur seals (bring binoculars); the return walk along Volunteer Lagoon provides glimpses of elephant seals. Excursions to the area can be arranged from Stanley, or you can contact the local landowner for permission to visit on your own.

Nearly as large as East Falkland, West Falkland has only one proper road, but a series of rough dirt tracks makes getting around by 4WD a possibility. The island wasn't settled permanently until the late 1860s, and sparsely even then, but there are a number of small communities worth a visit and the individual farms are often welcoming to strangers. The real attractions of West Falkland, though, are wildlife watching and trekking through the interior. At the southwestern end of the island, Port Stephens' rugged headlands host thousands of rockhoppers and other seabirds, while Calm Head, a two-hour walk away, has excellent views of the jagged shoreline. An abandoned sealing station and huge colonies of gentoo penguins make the long cross-island trek to Albemarle worthwhile.West Falkland is accessible from Stanley and Mt Pleasant via aircraft and private boat charters. Ask local farmers for permission to cross their properties.