Saint-Barthélemy

Saint-Barthelemy — Saint Barts to its admirers, Saint-Barth to the French — is the Caribbean island that has perfected the art of tropical luxury without sacrificing authenticity. This eight-square-mile volcanic jewel in the Leeward Islands was, improbably, a Swedish colony from 1784 to 1878 (the capital, Gustavia, is named after King Gustav III), and its subsequent return to French sovereignty has produced a unique cultural alloy: the duty-free shopping legacy of the Swedish era, the gastronomic standards of mainland France, and the laid-back Caribbean warmth of an island where the population of 10,000 swells to many times that number during the winter season, when the yachts in Gustavia harbour grow large enough to have their own yachts.

Gustavia, wrapped around a deep natural harbour that once sheltered the Swedish West India Company's trading fleet, is the most elegant small town in the Caribbean. Its stone warehouses, red-roofed Swedish-era buildings, and the restored Fort Gustav overlooking the harbour entrance create a streetscape that combines colonial heritage with contemporary sophistication — boutiques carrying the same labels found on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore sit alongside rum bars and local art galleries in a composition that manages to be exclusive without being exclusionary. The Shell Beach, a narrow crescent of coral and shell fragments just outside the harbour walls, is the most photographed beach on the island — not for its size but for the incongruous luxury of its setting, with mega-yachts moored within swimming distance.

The food culture of Saint-Barth is, unsurprisingly for a French territory, the finest in the Caribbean. The island's restaurants range from Michelin-calibre establishments serving reinterpreted French cuisine — think lobster medallions with passion fruit beurre blanc and Reunion vanilla — to beachfront bistros offering perfect croque-monsieurs and salade nicoise with a view of the surf. The local Creole cuisine persists alongside the French imports: accras de morue (salt cod fritters), colombo de poulet (a curry with roots in the island's Indian indentured-labourer history), and the ti'punch — rum, lime, and cane syrup — that is the official cocktail of every French Caribbean territory. The weekly market at Gustavia's waterfront provides artisan cheeses flown from France alongside island-grown papayas and the spiny lobsters that local fishermen trap offshore.

The beaches of Saint-Barth are its principal natural asset — 22 distinct beaches distributed around an island small enough to drive across in 20 minutes, each with its own character. Saline Beach, a wild, undeveloped crescent backed by salt ponds where herons wade, is the island's most beautiful. Colombier Beach, accessible only by boat or a 30-minute hike, offers snorkelling in waters of impossible clarity among sea turtles and reef fish. Saint-Jean Beach, divided by the runway of the island's famously short airport — planes skim the hilltop before dropping onto a strip that ends at the beach — provides the most sociable atmosphere and the best people-watching on the island.

Saint-Barthelemy is visited by MSC Cruises on Caribbean itineraries, with ships anchoring offshore at Gustavia and tendering to the harbour. The winter season from December through April offers the most pleasant weather — warm, dry, with cooling trade winds — and the fullest social calendar, though the shoulder months of November and May provide lower prices and equally beautiful conditions.