Saint-Pierre (; ) is the third-largest commune in the

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

overseas department and region The overseas departments and regions of France (, ; DROM) are the five departments and regions of the French Republic which are located outside European France (also known as " metropolitan France"). These overseas entities have exactly the s ...

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

. Located on the southwest side of the island, it is the headquarters of the

French Southern and Antarctic Lands The French Southern and Antarctic Lands (, TAAF) is an overseas territory ( or ) of France. It consists of: * Adélie Land (), the French claim on the continent of Antarctica. * Crozet Islands (), a group in the southern Indian Ocean, south ...

History

It developed from a port built from 1854 to 1882, which was used for the trade between Asia and Europe. Today, it features 400 sites for fishing and pleasure boats, while most of the commercial traffic moved north to '' Le Port''. The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1773.

Geography

The town of Saint-Pierre is at the beginning of the only major road N3 across the island. From here, the road leads to Le Tampon, La Plaine des Cafres and Bourg Murat. From that area, there is a relatively easy access to the Piton de la Fournaise and a starting point of many excursions.

Climate

Saint-Pierre has a

hot semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''BSh''), while

Ligne Paradis The ''ligne'' ( ), or line or Paris line, is a historic unit of length used in France and elsewhere prior to the adoption of the metric system in the late 18th century, and used in various sciences after that time. The ''loi du 19 frimaire an V ...

and Ravine des Cabris's climate type has

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

''Aw'') in the southeast of the area. The average annual temperature in Saint-Pierre (downtown) is . The average annual rainfall is with February as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in January, at around , and lowest in July, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Pierre (downtown) was on 20 February 2007; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 15 September 2020.

Transportation

Pierrefonds Airport Pierrefonds Airport () is an airport located west-northwest of Saint-Pierre in Réunion. It is the smaller of the two airports located on the island, Roland Garros Airport being the other. The distance between the two airports is by air an ...

is located 5.5 kilometres outside of the commune. Opened in 1999, this is a small airport for commercial traffic. It has an

IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...

code of ZSE.

Population

Accommodations

There are no major hotels in Saint-Pierre. Comfort is only available at smaller houses such as converted Creole mansions and villas. ReU_StPierre_HoteldeVille.jpg, The Hôtel de Ville Ville_Saint-Pierre1.jpg, City of Saint-Pierre La_Réunion_Ville_de_Saint-Pierre_-_Port.jpg, Port Ville_Saint-Pierre2.jpg, Beach in the evening La_Réunion_Villa_Morgane_in_Saint-Pierre.jpg, Hotel Villa Morgane La_Réunion_Sunset_at_Saint-Pierre1.jpg, Sunset

Twin towns-Sister cities

Saint-Pierre is twinned with

Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill Beau Bassin-Rose Hill (or Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill; ; ) is a town in Mauritius, located in the Plaines Wilhems District. It is administered by the Municipal Council of Beau Bassin-Rose Hill and has a population of 147,066 inhabitants, making it the ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Notable people

Dimitri Payet Dimitri Payet (; born 29 March 1987) is a French professional association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. A set-piece specialist known for his accurate, Curl (football), bending Direct free kick, free kicks, he primari ...

Raphaël Babet Raphaël Babet (27 June 1894 – 30 August 1957) was a French politician. Babet was born in Saint-Pierre, Réunion. He represented the Democratic and Socialist Union of the Resistance (UDSR) in the Constituent Assembly elected in 1946 and in t ...

References

External links

Saint Pierre Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintpierre Communes of Réunion Subprefectures in France