Holiday in Noumea

About Noumea

Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia, is a piece of France at the end of the world — baguettes, cafés au lait, and haute cuisine meet Melanesian culture, turquoise lagoons, and the world's largest barrier reef after the Great Barrier Reef. The city on a peninsula in the South Pacific offers a unique blend that cannot be found anywhere else. The lagoon of New Caledonia is a UNESCO World Heritage site: 24,000 square kilometers of turquoise water with 1,600 kilometers of coral reef, dugongs (sea cows), humpback whales (July-September), and a biodiversity that excites marine biologists. From the city beach Anse Vata, the reef can be seen on the horizon. The Tjibaou Cultural Center (designed by Renzo Piano) is an architectural masterpiece that celebrates Kanak culture (the indigenous people of Melanesia) — ten wooden structure pavilions inspired by traditional hut roofs. The Aquarium des Lagons showcases the underwater world of the reef with fluorescent corals and nautilus shells. Noumea's Anse Vata and Baie des Citrons are city beaches with white sand, lined with French restaurants and ice cream parlors. The Ile des Pins (Isle of Pines) with its natural pools and Loyalty Islands are accessible by domestic flight or ferry.