At the fish market in Guadeloupe islands

This morning in my kitchen, you would have heard the whistling of my pressure cooker and the crackling of a frying.  For good reason, I enjoyed a fried fish accompanied by rice and lentils. A typical and delicious meal here, in Guadeloupe islands.

The story of this lunch started earlier in the morning at the fish market of Saint-François…

I love going to the fish market to buy my fresh fish that  I will cook later for the lunch. I go there to do my shopping, but not only… I love being immersed in its special atmosphere.

Go and visit the fish markets in Guadeloupe islands, you will enjoy it for sure!

On the one hand,  there are not better places to buy local, fresh and affordable fish and seafoods. On the other hand, you will share a typical activity of guadeloupean people.

Let me give you a taste of this immersion in this part of local life.  😎

The fish market of Saint-François is an organized mess where you will meet the fishermen, men who scale and clean the fish, the bars where you can drink some fresh juices, eat some hot « accras » (typical fritter with codfish),  people who buy their fish and so many other people.

The fishermen sell the fishing of the day. You can find a lot of different kind of tropical fish, there are fish of all colors, sizes and shapes. The fishing contains also typical seafoods like lobsters, conches, octopus…   If you arrive early, you can buy them directly in the typical colored boats of the fishermen called « Saintoise ». Look at the names of the boats, they are often funny 😉

My favorite fish is a small pink one called “Poisson Chat“. Its flesh is tender and tasty. You can also find tuna or sea bream.

Once, you will have bought your fish, there will be some nice guys who will scale and clean them! It’s really a turnkey service: buy the fish, clean the fish and bring back them home to eat the fish!

Let me give you some practical advices:

• 1 kilo of fish is around 10€
• 1 kilo of lobsters is around 25 € (depending of the period)
• You will pay 2€ to scale and clean 1 kilo of fish
• The main fish markets in Guadeloupe are in Saint-François, in Basse-Terre and in Pointe-à-Pitre.
• The markets are opened from 9am every day of the week except Sunday
• The payments are mostly  done in cash

So obviously, the main purpose of a fish market is buying fish, however don’t limit your getaway there to this shopping side.

This is the magic of a morning at the fish market.

You can mix the discovery of the fish market of Saint-François with a getaway to Pointe des Chateaux. It’s the extreme east part of Guadeloupe. You will enjoy awesome landscapes: wild sea, vertiginous cliffs, gorgeous panoramas and rich undersea life.