Hi, I'm James.
And I'm Laurent.
And we're in Noumea, New Caledonia.
Most of you have probably never heard of New Caledonia.
It's a tropical island, about halfway between Australia and Fiji.
And it has the 2nd largest Barrier Reef in the world, after that of Australia.
And it has amazing turquoise blue water.
It just so happens that New Caledonia is a French territory.
And the capital city is called Noumea.
And it is like a little Paris, in the tropics.
Yeah, and in this video, we're gonna take you to our Top 10 favorite spots in Noumea.
So, 1st on our list, is Ansa Vata.
Anse Vata is the main beach of Noumea.
And really, the main tourist attraction.
Anse Vata is a beautiful curved beach, with white sand and coconut trees,
right in the middle of the city.
It's a great place for water sports, like windsurfing, paddle boarding, and kite surfing.
There are lots of restaurants to choose from, at Anse Vata.
Not only French cuisine, but also all types of different ethnic styles.
Living in Chicago, we don't have the opportunity to eat outside all the time.
And, the fact that you can do it year-round, in Noumea, feels like a paradise to us.
And the vegetation in Noumea is so lush!
Yeah, if you walk around, wherever you look, there are beautiful tropical flowers in bloom, and bushes.
It really feels like paradise.
Those flowers are so beautiful, and so colorful!
2nd on our list, is Duck Island, or Ile aux Canards, in French.
Duck Island is a small island, just 1/2 mile from Anse Vata.
And to go there, you can take a taxi boat from Anse Vata.
The taxis run every 15 minutes.
So, you can come and go, whenever you want throughout the day.
Yeah, it's a lot more practical than another island called Phare Amedee.
Because at Phare Amedee, there's only one boat, that leaves in the morning,
and comes back in the evening.
And once you go there, you're kind of stuck there, all day.
Duck Island is a great place to lay on the beach, and do nothing.
It's also an amazing destination for snorkeling.
There's no need to scuba dive there, to see all the tropical fish.
There's an underwater path, that is very well marked.
And you can see the coral reef, and all the fish, including clownfish,
which are by far our favorite.
They are so much fun to watch.
I love that.
Your chances of seeing a turtle at Duck Island are almost 100%.
They are there all the time, searching for food in the coral reef.
And they're just so majestic to watch.
3rd on our list, is the Noumea Aquarium, or Aquarium des Lagons, in French.
New Caledonia has the 2nd largest Barrier Reef after Australia.
So, if you don't want to snorkel yourself, but you still want to see tropical fish,
then the aquarium is a great place to go to.
It's a small aquarium, but it's very well designed.
And everybody we know, who's been there, has absolutely loved it!
And you'll probably love it too, even if you visited other bigger aquariums before.
One of our favorites parts in the aquarium was the huge tank, with all those sharks.
It was just very impressive.
And the other tank, with the sea turtles.
Those were really cool!
The section with coral, that glow in the dark, was also a really interesting one.
But I think our favorite one, was the humpback turretfish.
It's a small fish, that's shaped like a pyramid.
And it's just so funny to watch.
So cool!
At the Noumea Aquarium, you'll find a mix of traditional tropical fish,
and also species you've never seen anywhere else.
And 4th on our list, is the Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center.
It is the most impressive monument to visit in Noumea.
We only put it 4th on our list, because it's located 5-miles, from the core downtown
of Noumea.
And getting there, if you don't have a car, is a bit cumbersome.
And it's also not necessarily what most tourists might want to see,
when they go visit a tropical island.
But it's really an architectural wonder.
It was designed by famous Italian architect Renzo Piano.
So, it's a modern building, but it was inspired by the traditional Kanak huts.
Kanaks are the indigenous people of New Caledonia.
Inside, the permanent collection displays art and handicrafts, not only from New Caledonia,
but also from all the different cultures of the South Pacific.
There's Aboriginal art from Australia, and Maori art from New Zealand, and then art from
all the different islands of Melanesia and Polynesia.
Even if you don't like tribal art, the building alone is so spectacular.
And the gardens as well are worth the visit.
It's amazing to think that, a small island like New Caledonia, could have such a premier
architectural landmark.
So, 5th on our list, is Lemon Bay, or Baie des Citrons, in French.
Lemon Bay is right next to Anse Vata, and is the other big beach in Noumea.
It also has plenty of restaurants to choose from.
Just like Anse Vata, Lemon Bay has plenty of restaurants, where you can eat outside.
And it has our favorite ice-cream shop in the whole wide world: Amarino.
I love all the flavors you can get there.
And because Lemon Bay is facing straight West, it's also the best spot to watch the sunset,
on the Lagoon.
And after sunset is really when Lemon Bay becomes animated, with all the bars and restaurants.
6th on our list, is Ouen Toro.
New Caledonia is a long mountain range, and Noumea is a fairly hilly city.
But the most famous hill of all, in Noumea is Ouen Toro.
This is the spot, where you can get the best views of the city.
It overlooks the whole city.
And from the top of the hill, you have beautiful views, on all the different bays,
from every direction.
And because of its strategic location, there's still a military base on top of the hill.
There are lots of ways to get up Ouen Toro.
But it's small enough that you can hike up there.
And people in Noumea are pretty outdoorsy.
And on your way up there, you're gonna see plenty of runners, and bikers, climbing the hill.
And because it's a regional park, they're also lots of hiking trails in the forest.
7th in our list, is the Moselle City Market.
Right downtown is the Quai Moselle.
And this is where the city market is located.
The market takes place every day.
And there's a building for every different type of food.
But our favorite one, was the fish building.
Since New Caledonia is a tropical island, fish is the heart of the New Caledonian cuisine.
And besides the fish building, there's also the meat building.
You can find all kinds of French charcuterie.
There is also a produce building, with both Western or tropical fruits and veggies.
It's a very lively market, and it just has a great local feel.
And 8th on our list, is Coconut Square, or Place des Cocotiers, in French.
Coconut Square is the main square in downtown Noumea.
It's where you can find City Hall, and the City Museum.
It's a very lush square, and not only with coconut trees, but also other tropical trees and bushes.
And it's very animated on weekends, but a lot quieter throughout the week.
There's a little music pavilion, in the middle of the square, where they sometimes hold open-air concerts
And if you go to Coconut Square, you should also explore the rest of downtown,
and just walk all the adjacent streets.
It's cool to see the old colonial buildings, such as the Bernheim library.
And a couple of blocks away from Coconut Square, you can see these amazing Banian Trees.
Their roots seem to be even bigger than the tree itself.
I love watching those trees. They're just so cool!
And 9th on our list, is the Maritime Museum.
And the Maritime Museum is located right next to the ferry dock,
where all the cruise ships dock for the day.
It's a small museum, but it's a great activity on a rainy day.
It's also a great place to visit with young kids.
Yeah, it has lots of 3D models of tall ships and cargo ships. It's actually really cool.
And it's also got an exhibit, about explorers who discovered all the islands of the South Pacific,
including La Perouse, who was the first European to explore the island.
And it has artifacts, of all the goods that were being traded with mainland France,
such as silverware and potteries.
Because New Caledonia is an island, everything that's related to the sea is central to the island.
Number 10 on our list, is the Noumea Zoo.
We put the zoo last on our list, because it's also out of the way, and not
within walking distance from the core downtown.
But it's a really nice zoo, especially if you like birds.
Tropical birds are really the main reason to go visit the zoo.
The zoo is especially known for its kagus.
It's a bird that is only found in New Caledonia.
If you want to see a Kagu in the wild, you're gonna have to drive an hour outside of Noumea,
to the Blue River Park.
But the Noumea Zoo allows you to see kagus roaming freely.
And the zoo also has lots of parrots, not just from New Caledonia, but from the entire South Pacific.
And even if you're not interested in birds, the zoo is nested in a beautiful park,
with a variety of different trails.
It will make you discover all the indigenous trees in New Caledonia.
And outside of birds, the zoo also has monkeys, and lemurs, and also ostriches, which I guess
technically is a bird, but kind of a big bird, that kids will be happy to play with.
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