The oddly named St Barts or St Barths is actually short for St Barthelemy and is a stunning French West Indian island located in the Caribbean. St Barts can be slightly difficult to reach; most visitors arrive via a 20 seater aircraft from neighboring St Maarten.
This has proved to be a drawback and a huge benefit to the island; its a drawback because of the inconvenience of not having direct international flights. However, many visitors feel that this is easily outweighed by the benefits of the island not being overrun by too many visitors. In addition, the lack of concrete over-development that has damaged other once beautiful, Caribbean islands.
What is so special about vacationing on St Barts, can be best summed up by fine cuisine, both French and local, stunning beaches and coves, and a very exotic and defiantly French feel to the whole island. Of course, because of the French influence, everything on the island has that certain, indefinable chic feel that only the French can bring.
The French influence can be felt in all aspects of life and culture on the island, with French street names and French colonial style buildings adding an air of elegance to the West Indian laid back culture. The food is very continental, offering the highest quality ingredients and the finest French chefs. There is no need to visit Paris to explore the very best in authentic French cuisine, St Barts is not a pretend French food heaven, and it offers an absolutely equivalent level of the best French fayre.
St Barts is unquestionably very French, but at the same time it also manages to encompass a very international feel, with high class visitors including A-list stars from not only America, but also every corner of the world.
St. Barts has an additional odd, international claim to fame, as it is the only place in the whole of the Caribbean that has a Swedish heritage. The islands capital Gustavia was named after a Swedish King, many streets have not only French but also Swedish names. King Gustav declared that the town would be a duty-free port, which it still is to this day, which is wonderful for vacationers looking for a first class bargain gift.
The harbour of Gustavia is truly beautiful and is usually home to some equally beautiful sailboats and yachts. Many cruise ships use its deeper outer waters to disembark visitors to this picture perfect little town. The local government has very wisely, chosen to permanently limit the number of ships that are allowed to visit the island, so as to avoid the town becoming over by day trip tourists.
Both the island's heritage and makeup of its vacationers is a heady mix of international cultures brought together in one idyllic island location. St Barts is a tiny piece of continental Europe dropped into the middle of the exotic Caribbean.
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