Centre de Découverte des Sciences de la Terre

We thought this museum was great and really good value. They have some interesting and relevant displays well laid out (in French but they still show the geological concepts clearly). The film was excellent. My daughters age 7 and 9 watched it all despite having to read the subtitles and it covers not just Mont Pelee but volcanoes in the Caribbean in general. There was also a special exhibition with many interactive maths and geometric puzzles to try out in a large cool room! We were staying in St Pierre anyway so it was an easy trip - and I’m not sure I’d have travelled down the island just to get there but anyway St Pierre is a good day out in itself with ruins of the volcano around the town including the old church in Rue d’Eglise and a lovely cafe.

I am very disappointed. We arrived at 1330 (3:30pm) and we were turned away even though the sign says otherwise. The agent would not allow a group of 10 people to enter even though we walked a half hour from st pierre to have a tour and though they do not close until 5pm! Very disappointed. Bad customer service.

Could have been very interesting and educational, however, our personal experience wasn’t that great. Our first attempt to visit failed, even though the sign on the window clearly stated the opening hours and it should’ve been open. The following day, our credit card was supposedly declined. We tried a different card and apparently, it was declined again. I then realised that the first payment had gone through and refused to try more cards or pay cash. We had to argue with the lady at the entrance for some time before she reluctantly let us in (no tickets issued). Shortly later, I checked the other bank account and realised that both payments had gone through! When we spoke to a member of staff (via Google translate as nobody there speaks English), they advised that payments are managed by the head office and there’s nothing they can do! Sadly, despite paying double the price, we could only benefit from the film upstairs, which we knew to request English subtitles to. The main exhibition is mainly in French and there are no English audio guides. There is an online one for a part of the exhibition, but you need a phone with data and headphones. We had only one phone with limited data between us and no headphones, so couldn’t use it. What a shame.

As several other reviewers have pointed out - this place is more closed than open. I tried to visit on Jan 18 (Wednesday) at 2pm. There were few other French tourist, incl. a family with a kid. We all “bounced” - despite helpful attempts by the security guards to reach someone in charge and allow us to enter. What a joke.

I arrived at 3:30, the sign said open till 5 with last entry at 4, but they refused to let me in. Given how hard it is to get here, i think this policy of disappointing tourists is unwise. I advise readers to skip this place

Excellent learning adventure

Super

Très intéressant. Malheureusement il y avait un problème de climatisation ce jour-là donc j'ai eu un peu chaud mais j'ai été très bien accueilli. Alors que j'étais le seul visiteur pendant presque toute la visite une dame a pris le temps de m'accueillir comme elle l'aurait fait pour un groupe de visiteurs. Le film de presque une heure dans la petite salle de cinéma est vraiment incontournable pour comprendre la formation des îles et l'évolution de la population caribéenne.