French Polynesia

Overview

French Polynesia is an archipelago in the South Pacific, divided into five island groups: the Society Islands (including Tahiti and Bora Bora), the Tuamotu Islands, the Marquesas Islands, and the Austral and Gambier Islands. France gradually took possession of the territory starting in the 1880s, and today, as an overseas collectivity, it holds significant local autonomy, with its own government and legislature, while defense and most foreign affairs remain France's responsibility. The official languages are French and Tahitian, and most of the population is of Polynesian descent, with significant French and Chinese minorities. French Polynesia uses the CFP franc as its official currency, pegged to the euro.

French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity of France (collectivité d'outre-mer) in the Pacific, with its own legislature and significant local autonomy, and it is not part of the European Union.

The lagoon of Bora Bora, with turquoise water and Mount Otemanu rising in the background, is one of the world's best-known and most photographed coastal landscapes, where the concept of the over-water luxury bungalow became popular in the 1960s and has since spread to numerous other tropical destinations. Tahiti, the archipelago's largest island, home to the capital Papeete, is the region's commercial and transportation hub, from which most international and domestic routes depart. The Marquesas Islands, chosen as home by French painter Paul Gauguin and Belgian singer Jacques Brel, with their steep, jungle-covered peaks, form the archipelago's least developed yet most dramatic region. Moorea, near Tahiti, with its jagged silhouette and lush green valleys, is one of the archipelago's most beautiful and easily accessible destinations.

The coral atolls and lagoons of the Tuamotu Islands, including Rangiroa, one of the largest atolls in the world, offer excellent diving, with sharks, rays, and colorful tropical fish regularly observed. Whale watching takes place in the waters of the Society Islands between July and October, when humpback whales migrate to the region to breed, and in some locations swimming with whales is available under license. Polynesian pearl farming, primarily the black Tahitian pearl cultivated in the lagoons of the Tuamotu Islands, is both a significant export and a tourist attraction for the territory. Local cuisine blends Polynesian and French influences, with poisson cru, raw fish marinated in lime juice and coconut milk, as a signature dish symbolizing the blend of French and Tahitian culinary tradition.