The waterfront
Boats and painted houses.
Ulises Icardi — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view from Los Angeles, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Prayitno / Thank you for (12 millions +) view from Los Angeles, USA — CC BY 2.0 · Enrevseluj — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jim Vajda — CC BY 2.0 · George Wolfe from Calver, GB — CC BY 2.0
Soufrière is a small, colourful town on a blue bay on the west coast of Saint Lucia, with Petit Piton rising just to its south. Painted houses with balconies line the water, fishing boats sit in the bay and green hills surround it, in a striking setting between the mountains and the sea. The French settled it, and it was the island's first capital, with large estates around it, some still standing. Castries became the capital after the island became a British colony in 1803. Hurricanes struck in 1780, 1817, 1831, 1898 and 1980, a great fire in 1955 and an earthquake in 1991, so the town has been rebuilt many times. Joséphine, later Empress of France, spent part of her childhood in the area. You walk the waterfront among boats and painted houses, with the Pitons above the bay. From the high road north of town there is a famous view of the town, the bay and both peaks together. Today the town lives more from tourism than farming. Soufrière is 19 km in a straight line south-west of Castries, on a winding road. Walking is free. Do not walk alone in quiet places after dark, and use licensed taxis.
Boats and painted houses.
Town and peaks together.
Blue water under the hills.
Waterfront, Soufrière town, west coast of Saint Lucia
From the high road north of town.
Sulphur Springs is 2 km away and the Pitons 6 km.