French Guiana

A remote Aluku Maroon village on the upper Maroni River near the Suriname border, and one of the most important leatherback sea turtle nesting beaches in the Western Hemisphere.

Europe's Spaceport near Kourou, French Guiana — the equatorial launch base operated by ESA and CNES for Ariane, Soyuz, and Vega rockets since 1968.

Three islands off the coast of Kourou — Royale, Saint-Joseph and the infamous Île du Diable — served as a French penal colony from 1852 to 1952; now a nature reserve and living museum of colonial punishment.

An expansive dark-sand Atlantic beach east of Cayenne at Rémire-Montjoly, backed by coastal mangroves and a sea-turtle research station; one of French Guiana's most accessible and scenically varied shorelines.

Cayenne's historic central square, planted with royal palms since the early 19th century and surrounded by colonial-era public buildings, the Musée Franck A. Léopold Sédar Senghor, and the Théâtre de la Ville.

A remote Amazonian village in the heart of French Guiana, entirely encircled by the Parc amazonien de Guyane and accessible only by air or river — the gateway to some of the least-visited primary rainforest in South America.