Attractions & Natural Wonders · Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy: Five Attractions and Natural Wonders

A harbour town still bearing its old Swedish name, a beach scattered with seashells, and an airport approach so short and steep that pilots need special certification just to attempt it

By Worldlore Editorial · 30 September 2026

A row of yachts moored in a small harbour surrounded by hillside buildings
Gustavia harbour, Saint Barthélemy's capital, still carrying the name of the Swedish king who once ruled the island. (en:User:Evanegge / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0)

A small French island with an outsized reputation

Saint Barthélemy, a small French overseas collectivity in the Caribbean, has built an international reputation as one of the most exclusive island destinations in the world, drawing luxury yachts, high-end resorts, and a famously wealthy clientele to an island only about 25 square kilometres in size. Unusually for the Caribbean, it was a Swedish colony for nearly a century (1784–1878) before being sold back to France, a history still visible in its capital's name and the Three Crowns on its coat of arms.

The five below are spread across the small island's harbour town, beaches, and famous airport approach. December through April, the dry season, is the island's peak (and most expensive) period.

1. Gustavia

A harbour filled with yachts surrounded by red-roofed buildings on a hillside
Gustavia's harbour, filled with yachts, seen from the surrounding hillside. (David Broad / Wikimedia Commons)

Gustavia, the island's capital, retains its Swedish name (after King Gustav III) from the century it spent as a Swedish colony, and the sites of the old forts that once guarded its harbour are still popular with walkers. Today it is better known for its harbour crowded with superyachts and a small but dense cluster of high-end boutiques, a reflection of the island's status as a favoured stop for the international wealthy.

2. Colombier Beach

A secluded beach cove accessible only by boat or a coastal trail
Colombier Beach, one of the island's most secluded, reachable only by boat or a coastal hiking trail. (David Stanley / Wikimedia Commons)

Colombier Beach, tucked into a secluded bay with no road access, is reached either by a scenic coastal hiking trail or by boat, keeping it quieter than the island's more accessible beaches. It is the last beach on the island not served by a public road, and there are no restaurants or hotels around the bay.

3. Shell Beach

A beach covered in pale shell fragments instead of ordinary sand
Shell Beach, on the southwestern edge of Gustavia, scattered with seashells. (David Stanley / Wikimedia Commons)

Shell Beach, a short walk from Gustavia, officially Anse de Grand Galet, takes its English name from the many seashells scattered along its shore. It remains one of the most easily accessible beaches from the capital.

4. Baie de Saint-Jean

A curved beach along a bay lined with small buildings and palm trees
Baie de Saint-Jean, one of the island's liveliest beach bays. (Mike Schinkel / Wikimedia Commons)

Baie de Saint-Jean, one of the island's liveliest beach areas, sits directly alongside the airport runway, giving beachgoers a close-up (and often startling) view of small aircraft passing low overhead on approach. Restaurants, boutique hotels, and water-sports operators line the bay, making it one of the more sociable beach spots compared with the island's quieter coves.

5. The Gustaf III Airport approach

A short airport runway ending abruptly near a beach
Gustaf III Airport's short runway, requiring special pilot certification for its steep, low approach over a hillside. (Dale Coleman / Wikimedia Commons)

Gustaf III Airport is famous among aviation enthusiasts for one of the most dramatic short-runway approaches anywhere — planes descend steeply over a hillside road before touching down on a runway only 646 metres long, which ends at the edge of Baie de Saint-Jean. Only pilots with special certification are permitted to fly the route, and only small aircraft, carrying up to 19 passengers, can use the airport, so most visitors connect via neighbouring Sint Maarten.

Saint Barthélemy suits a short, indulgent long weekend or week, with beach time, boat trips to secluded coves, and Gustavia's harbourside dining as the main structure of most visits.

Explore the destination