A short scenic drive from Saint-Pierre, Anse Céron is a beautiful black-sand beach in a wild, jungle-like setting. Anse Céron is backed by coconut palms and faces Ilet la Perle, a rounded offshore rock that's a good diving spot.Despite the remote location, the beach has a shower, toilets, picnic tables and a snack shop. A very steep one-lane drive continues for 1.5km (1mi) beyond the beach to access the start of a six-hour, 20km (12mi) trail north to Grand Rivière.

Grand Rivière is an unspoiled fishing village scenically tucked beneath coastal cliffs at the northern tip of Martinique. Mont Pelée forms a rugged backdrop to the south, while there's a fine view of neighboring Dominica to the north.Along the sea there's a fish market and rows of brightly painted fishing boats lined up on a little black-sand beach. The waters are sometimes good for surfing at the western edge of town. While there's no road around the tip of the island there's a 20km (12mi) hiking trail leading to Anse Couleuvre, on the northwestern coast.

One key to the history and culture of Martinique is its rum. When you've processed as much sugar as Martinique has, you end up with a lot of molasses - which tends to turn into rum if you let it sit around long enough.The best place to start is the Musée du Rhum, just north of Sainte-Marie at the Saint-James Plantation distillery. There are displays of steam-powered sugar-making engines, rum stills and cane-crushing gears. There's also a tasting room where you can sample different rums; if you don't knock back too much you might still be capable of checking out the museum's sugar mill and distillery.About 5km (3mi) north of Sainte-Marie is Fond Saint-Jacques, the site of an old Dominican monastery and sugar plantation dating from 1660. It was here that a Dominican friar modernized the distilling of rum. The chapel and most of the living quarters are still intact and there are many ruins on the grounds, including those of the mill, distillery basins, boiling house and sugar factory.