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Get to know Lorient

Lorient is more residential than St. Jean or Gustavia. It’s also the location of the island’s first French settlement. There’s a small Catholic church, built in 1850, and a nearby cemetery, where Johnny Hallyday, the beloved and legendary French pop star, is buried. As for Lorient beach, it’s a Goldilocks stretch of sand that’s just right, as it’s neither too busy nor too sequestered. The east end is protected by a coral reef, making it ideal for swimming or snorkeling. It’s also one of the most consistent surfing spots, with smaller swells in the center of the beach and more challenging waves on the west end. There aren’t a ton of restaurants crowding the area, but a fruit market, burger stand, and a bakery just off the beach makes it easy to grab a light meal or snack.

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Living in St. Barth

St. Barthélemy, or St. Barth, is a small island of volcanic rock, just eight square miles big, in the Caribbean. But this tiny island, with its 14 public beaches, is one of the world’s most luxurious getaways that also manages to feel completely down to earth. An overseas collectivity of France, St. Barth was sparsely populated and rarely visited by outsiders until the 1950s. In the mid-1950s, David Rockefeller, who had spied St. Barth from his sailboat, bought and built his clifftop estate. In 1953, Rémy de Haenen, a Dutch-French adventurer, opened the Eden Rock hotel, and with that, the island was off to the races. In a place where no building is higher than a palm tree and the celebrities blend into the sea, St. Barth has managed to remain unspoiled and genuine. It’s an island where superyachts dock but also where giant turtles swim in secret swimming holes and goats rule the cliffs, all part of the magic of St. Barth.