My Favourite Things to Do in Saint-Pierre

Pick up a map from the tourist information office and take some time to wander Saint-Pierre’s narrow streets and laneways. Houses of nearly every colour found in the crayon box sing out their presence. Some even have matching Renaults, Peugeots, or Citroens parked outside! Admire the many windows adorned with lacy curtains, flowerpots, colourful porcelain figures, and cats.

Many homes in Saint-Pierre have a tambour—a small, closed entrance that projects over the sidewalk. They serve to preserve heat in the winter and provide a place to shed your coat and boots, but they must test the snowplough drivers’ skills.

Watch a game of pelota at the fronton wall, found at the intersection of Rue Maître Georges Lefèvre and Rue Maréchal de Lattre de Tassigny, dating from 1906. The Basques brought pelota (a collective name for several ball games like squash or racquetball) to Saint-Pierre and it is still played today. It is also the site of community events like the annual Basques Festival.

Making your way along the water, you will quickly get an idea of the importance of boats in the lives of local people—fishing boats, cargo ships, ferries, sailboats, and pleasure crafts of all shapes, sizes, and colours can be found here. As you stroll, keep an eye out for seals basking on the breakwaters.

Enjoy the plentiful shops that are sure to delight you with wonderful traditional crafts. Check out the little grocers, too, such as the Boucherie-Épicerie Chez Julien. Baguettes? Foie gras? Red wine? No problem. Just remember that euros are the official currency in Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, although the Canadian dollar is also widely accepted.

On your way up the hills, keep an eye out for the convex traffic mirrors that help drivers see around the corners of the narrow streets—they provide great perspectives for photos!

Magical L'Île-aux-Marins, rich with history and beauty, is where Saint-Pierre’s local residents go to get away from it all. If you have some extra time, reach it via a small passenger ferry situated near the main terminal.

Be sure to read the historical plaques as you wander through L'Île-aux-Marins. In front of many of the colourful houses, you will see boulder-strewn squares that were once used for drying codfish. Seven hundred people once lived here beginning in the early 1600s, but after the 1960s it became a ghost town. Today, people are returning once more to the small, pretty homes and restoring them.

End your visit to Saint-Pierre with a stop at Les Délices de Joséphine for a delicious lunch or snack with a glorious coffee. The ambience is delightful, the food is outstanding, and you will almost certainly find some of your fellow travellers here. (In fact, you might want to avoid peak times, because it is often full.)