The Caribbean playground of the rich
and famous, the diminutive
25-square-kilometre
ST BARTHELEMY
(St Barts) looks like it's been
plucked from the Côte d'Azur and
dropped into the Antilles. Situated
25km south of St Martin and 175km
north of Guadeloupe, the
boomerang-shaped island is sprinkled
with picturesque red-roofed
villas
and edged by some of the Caribbean's
loveliest
beaches and
bays
. Many of the beaches are only
accessible by sea, giving the island
a rare sense of
seclusion .
Even the most beautiful stretches -
Grande
Saline, AnseColombier and
Anse
Gouverneur - never get crowded
and, thanks to building laws
forbidding big resort developments,
everything is small-scale, including
the capital,
Gustavia , whose
tallest buildings are shorter than
the highest palm trees.
St Barts' privacy doesn't come
cheaply, but considering the throngs
that crowd the island's neighbors
in high season, paying a little more
for some personal space can make all
the difference.
