Adventurous Kate contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I will earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Did you know that there is still a little island in North America that is still technically part of France? Visiting St. Pierre and Miquelon is one way to scratch that francophile itch as you explore Atlantic Canada!
I visited this quirky little place last summer and was quick enchanted. Most visitors plan a trip to St. So why come here? Note: I visited St. While I adored this trip, things at OneOcean have gone downhill since then. Lots of employees quit, including the people on the PR team with whom I worked.
The last we heard, the ship was in an incident with a Venezuelan Navy vessel in the Caribbean. Pierre and Miquelon lies just off the southern coast of Newfoundland, Canada, near the city of Fortune. The smaller island of Saint-Pierre is where most of the population lives; the island of Miquelon also called Grande-Miquelon and Langlade is far more rural. They were originally a French settlement Jacques Cartier stopped on his second voyage and gave them their name but the British also had control of the islands several times β in , , , , and Since , the islands have been a French Territory.
When the Treaty of Paris passed in , St. Pierre and Miquelon were the only North American territories except for Louisiana that were left under French control and then later, in , the citizens chose to remain a French overseas territory. In more recent history, the two islands played a role in the rum trade with the infamous Al Capone and other mobsters using the islands to smuggle liquor into the United States during the Prohibition!
Today, the islands have a total population of just under 6 thousand spread across 93 square miles. The entry requirements vary from country to country but Americans and Canadians need just a passport.
