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Home > Travel France > France Destinations > Saint Martin
Saint-Martin
France, officially the French Republic, is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in Western Europe and comprises various overseas islands and territories which are located in other regions. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. At 674,843 square kilometers, France is the world's 40th-largest country after Myanmar. France is a member of The European Union and Paris is the capital of this nation. The sole official language of France is French. Since prehistoric times, France has been a crossroads of trade, migrations, and invasions.
Saint Martin is a tropical island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately at 240 kilometers far away from the eastern part of Puerto Rico. The 98 square kilometer island is divided roughly in half between France and the Netherlands and it is the smallest inhabited land mass in the world that is divided between two nations. The southern Dutch half is called Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles and the northern French half is called Saint-Martin and is part of the French overseas region and department of Guadeloupe. The main towns are Marigot and Philipsburg.
The French part of the island has a land area of 53.20 per square kilometer. At the October 2004 supplementary French census, the population in the French part of the island was 33,102 inhabitants, which means a population density of 622 inhabitants per square kilometer as of 2004. Sint Maarten, the Dutch part of the island, has a land area of 34 square kilometer. Sint Maarten, the Dutch side, is known for its festive nightlife, fun beaches, and plentiful casinos, while Saint-Martin, the French side, is known more for its world-famous nude beaches, jewelry and clothes shopping, exotic drinks made with native rum-based guavaberry liquors and rich French Caribbean cuisine.
The island is widely known for its hundreds of gourmet restaurants on both sides of the island. Neighboring islands include Saint-Barthelemy, Anguilla, Saba, Sint Eustatius Statia, Nevis and Saint Kitts. With the exception of Nevis, all of these islands are easily visible on a clear day from Saint Maarten.
Saint Martin is a city known for its historic myths and traditions, scenic beauty, cooperative people and luxurious hotels and cottages. Saint Martin is one of the favorite holiday destinations for most of the vacation lovers.
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