What to see in Papeete, itinerary including the main monuments and places of interest, including market, pearl museum, Bougainville park, Bain Loti and Fautana waterfall.
Tourist information
Capital and main urban center of the overseas territory of French Polynesia, Papeete is a lively port city on the island of Tahiti.
In the small center, not far from the waterfront, there is the structure that houses the picturesque market, developed on two floors with stalls full of various food products, including meat, fish and fruit on the lower floor, and handicraft products, which include the famous sarongs, upstairs.
The current complex dates back to 1987, as the previous buildings had been destroyed, first by bombs thrown by large German warships and subsequently by cyclones.
The cultivation of pearls, in particular of the black pearl of Tahiti, is one of the main economic activities of the island, for this reason it is very interesting to visit the small Pearl Museum, set up by Robert Van, a rich pearl grower who created it with intended to attract customers to your store.
What see
The Bougainville Park, which takes its name from the French explorer Louis Antoine de Bougainville and is located in the city center, with its lush vegetation constitutes a corner of peace and tranquility.
Proceeding inland you reach Bain Loti, the heavenly place where, as told in the novel The Marriage of Loti written by Pierre Loti in 1880, the meeting between Loti and the beautiful Polynesian Rarahu took place.
Continuing on foot it is possible, with an access permit, to make a nice excursion in the Vallée de Fautaua, reaching a magnificent panoramic point on the Fautaua waterfall.
Inside the island there are high mountains, including Monte Orohena with its 2241 meters, also there are plateaus, waterfalls and archaeological sites, very beautiful places to reach on foot.
