Cayenne

Cayenne
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D       399     29 23       335     29 24       315     30 24       443     30 24       600     30 24       392     31 23       262     31 23       135     32 23       63     32 23       55     33 22       135     32 23       352     30 23 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation+Snow totals in mm
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D       16     85 74       13     85 74       12     85 74       17     86 75       24     86 74       15     87 73       10     88 73       5.3     89 73       2.5     90 73       2.2     91 72       5.3     89 73       14     87 74 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation+Snow totals in inches

The city was founded in 1643 by the French and was part of the Dutch, English and Portuguese colonial empire during the following century. Today a third of the department's inhabitants live in Cayenne. Downtown is small and the houses are typically Caribbean.

Although it looks on some maps like the city is surrounded by open water and would have a waterfront promenade, in fact it's surrounded by a swamp of tall mangrove trees, and the ocean isn't visible from the downtown except from certain high points or long piers. The beaches are located outside of the town proper, in the suburbs.

On Sundays, almost everything is closed. If you arrive on a Sunday, the only thing to do on your first vacation day is walking around in an almost deserted city. However, there are still a few Chinese-owned grocery stores open in the downtown, and there may be food trucks open in the palm tree park (Place des Palmistes)

In 2019, the city was home to 66,000 people.

The climate is what you would expect this close to the Equator. The temperature is constant around +25-30°C while it's raining heavily for most of the year.

French Guiana's main international airport is 1 Cayenne – Félix Eboué Airport (CAY  ^IATA). located in the commune of Matoury, a southern suburb of Cayenne. There are two flights a day to Paris Orly Airport (not CDG) served by Air France and Air Caraïbes. Moreover there are flights from Martinique, Guadeloupe, Paramaribo and Belém.  

There are no buses to the airport, so your alternatives are to rent a car or take a taxi (€35 to central Cayenne).

From Brazil, you can cross by bridge into Saint-Georges de l'Oyapock, from where you can travel by bus to Cayenne with a transfer in Régina. From Suriname you have to make a river crossing by boat, and you'll step off the ferry in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, from where you can take a bus to Iracoubo and transfer to another going to Cayenne.

If you've brought a car, the road is paved from both borders towns to Cayenne, and it's quite a beautiful drive, largely through impressive rainforest, especially on the route from Brazil.

• Cayenne has a public bus network of five lines. The fare is €1,10.
• Your other options are car, taxi, foot or bike.

• 1 Place des Palmistes. A park with high palm trees, lively in the nighttime.  
• 2 Fort Cépérou. Remains of a historic fort on a hilltop right on the west side of downtown Cayenne. Great views, and probably the best (only?) place to see the ocean and Cayenne River from downtown, as well as an overview of the city itself. Well lit into the evening. Free. (updated Dec 2025)
• Place des Amandiers. A square frequented by young couples in the evening. 
• Jardin botanique (The botanical garden). The well-kept botanical garden of Cayenne is worth a visit. 
• Cayenne city hall.  
• 3 Cathédrale Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne (Cayenne cathedral). Cayenne's cathedral is a major landmark, the seat of the Diocese of Cayenne and a National Monument of France.  
• Musée Départemental Franconie, 1, avenue du général de Gaulle (in the same block as the library), ☏ . M Th 08:00-13:15, 15:00-17:45, W Fr 08:00-13:15. A museum of the animals of the region, Amerindian and Creole art, and exhibitions about the history of French Guiana, daily life in the penal colony and the colonial administrator and humanist Félix Éboué, perhaps the most significant person from the region. €3. (updated Feb 2024)
• Musée des Cultures Guyanaises, 78, rue Madame Payé, ☏ . M-F 8:00-13:00, 15:00-17:45 (W afternoon closed), Sa 8:00-11:45. Exhibitions of the daily life of the different populations in the region including traditional clothing and art, a reconstruction of a carbet (traditional shelter) as well as a documentation center. €2. 
• 4 Salines de Montjoly (in Rémire-Montjoly a few km east of Cayenne). A conservation area consisting of a sand beach, dunes and a mangrove forest.  
• 5 Fort Diamant (in Rémire-Montjoly). A 19th-century fort, nowadays a Monument Historique (French National Heritage Site).  

There are sand beaches in the eastern part of the Cayenne area, and the sea is good for surfing. The water is rarely, if ever, clear enough for snorkeling, but is often more green/blue than in the neighboring countries of Suriname and Guyana (the whole region tends to have brownish seawater due to the large amount of mud coming down through the many rivers).

• Hiking. There are some nice hikes right around Cayenne. One of the easiest to access is the Sentier de Montabo, which connects Cayenne proper with the nearest beach, and on the way gives you close-up views of both of French Guiana's two major native ecosystem types: the mangrove swamp and the Guianan tropical rainforest. (updated Dec 2025)

Guianese Carnival takes place between Epiphany in early January and Ash Wednesday in February or March. On the weekend people put on their carnival dresses and dance in the streets through the night. The most remarkable are the ladies' colorful touloulou dresses. The dancing groups show the ethnic diversity of French Guiana. In the main parade that is held on the last Sunday of the carnival dancing schools (similar to those in Rio de Janeiro) perform. The most famous of them are Chiré Band, Réno Band, Kassialata, Manaré and Piraye.

The restaurants of Cayenne reflects the ethnic mosaic of the Guyanese society; you will find Creole, French, Chinese, Lebanese and Javanese restaurants here.

In general the Chinese restaurants are the most affordable places to have a meal with dishes for €15-20. On Place des Palmistes there are also carts selling hamburgers and Javanese dishes.

• Jin Le Yuan, 33 rue Lieutenant Brasse, ☏ . Chinese restaurant. 
• Le Vrai Régal, 60 bd Jubelin, ☏ . A sandwich joint. 

• Iceberg, rue Lalouette.  

• La Taverne de Cayenne, 26 rue Mole, ☏ . French restaurant. 
• Mille Pâtes, 52 rue Justin Catayée, ☏ . French restaurant. 
• Bar des Palmistes, 12 av du Gén de Gaulle (place des Palmistes), ☏ . Creole and French restaurant. 
• L'Entracte, 65 r Justin Catayée, ☏ . French restaurant. 
• La Petite Maison, 23 r Félix Eboué, ☏ . French restaurant. 

• Le Paris Cayenne, 59 rue Lallouette, ☏ . French cuisine, likely the finest restaurant in Cayenne. 

Except for the carnival weeks, the nightlife isn't as wild as in many other Latin American destinations. There are some nice bars in Cayenne downtown. Nightclubs are generally located in the periphery of the city.

• Le Moonlight Discothèque, route de Montabo chemin Grant.  
• Le Bar des Palmistes. A bit expensive, for instance a Ricard is €5. This is however one of the few places open on Sunday. 

• Le Marché aux légumes (The vegetable market). W F Sa 5:00-13:00. A place to buy local agricultural products, or just to expericence a lively market in the tropics. 
• Marché d'Intérêt Régional (le M.I.R.). daily except Sunday. At the fish market you can buy fresh fish. 
• For souvenir shopping head for the Trois Fontaines shops and other shops in the downtown. Good souvenirs are objects carved out of wood and exotic objects of art.

Good hotels exist, but they can be relatively expensive.

• Hotel Ket Tai. Nothing fancy but clean and a few minutes walk from Place des Palmistes. Single room for €43, double for €50 and triple for €60. 

• Central Hôtel de Cayenne, rue Mole, ☏ . sgl €75, dbl €80. 
• Hotel Amazonia Cayenne, 28 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, ☏ . rates from €85. 

• 1 Grand Hotel Montabo, Chemin Hilaire Rue De Montabo, ☏ .