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USD $50.00
Papeete City Tour Including the Black Pearl Museum
Papeete, French Polynesia
See the highlights of Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia that is situated on the island of Tahiti. Visit the traditional Municipal Market, the high-end Vaima shopping center, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, and Papeete Town Hall. The crown jewel of this visit? A chance to explore the world’s only museum dedicated to the black pearl. Your knowledgeable local guide shares informative commentary as you explore the charming capital of French Polynesia.
After pickup from your hotel, visit the Municipal Market where vendors sell fish, fruit, vegetables, an abundance of crafts and other goods among the colorful stalls. Once you've browsed the goods, head to the Cathédrale Notre-Dame, one of the few early colonial buildings that remain in Papeete. The centrally located cathedral was completed in 1875 and restored in 1987. Note the mixture of Tahitian and European styles in the stained-glass windows and statues that adorn the church.
Once you have contemplated the cathedral, switch gears with a visit to Vaima shopping center, the largest shopping mall in Tahiti. Walk around the chic European-style shops that offer a range of wares. Then go to the Papeete Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) and admire the striking architecture of the building. The structure replicates the mansion of Queen Pomare, who was the queen of Tahiti from 1827 to 1877. French President Mitterand dedicated the colonial palace in 1990, and it has since become a landmark of downtown Papeete.
Finally, your guide takes you to the Black Pearl Museum, packed with informative exhibits that detail the underwater treasure in art, history and literature. Learn about the renowned Tahitian black pearl, and how the cultivation process works to bring the precious gems from the sea to the jeweler. The gift shop features stunning pearl jewelry, including pieces that have been worn by royalty.
Throughout the tour, your guide provides informative commentary on the highlights of Papeete as you travel by air-conditioned coach around the small charming city. At the end of your 3-hour tour, you are returned to your hotel.
This tour was terrible. We waited 40 minutes for our guide, When she arrived we were then with a group 4 English speaking people and 4 French speaking. The commentary was for the English speaking people very poor where we would be told something in 5 minutes, the French were given a good 25 minute talk. All of the English speaking people didn't complete the tour we walked away. The tour needs to either be in English or in French for us it was a total waste of over 100
Review by: Roy J, November 2017
This was a great tour! Seeing the city market and the Black Pearl Museum were highlights. The tour guide was excellent! She was organized and handled two or three venues at the same time. She made our tour great!
Review by: Lynne M, July 2016
This tour is worth doing because you get to stop at the Market in town. Papeete is small and there is not much to see. However, the town Market is a good place to get souvenirs. Most of what you learn about the island comes from the tour guide. The buildings are French colonial, there are a few parks, the waterfront where the ferries leave from to go to the other islands of French Polynesia. The pearl museum is interesting in that it shows you how they create the 'black' pearl.
Review by: Richard M, June 2016
The driver was very nice, however we were disappointed as nothing was open on Saturday.We saw the outside of gov't buildings and trees. The black pearl museum was a big nothing. Sorry we took this as it was nothing.rated no stars.
Review by: Barbara R, May 2016
I was absolutely awestruck with the Black Pearl Museum. The Tour Guide was most helpful to me as I was the only person on the tour not speaking French but I didn't feel as if I missed out on anything as the Tour Guide filled me in with info. a good look at the highlights of Papeete.
Review by: Bernard R, February 2016
We had an excellent tour guide that gave us a lot of information about Papeete and, in particular, about the culture of the natives. One issue, the bus used was very uncomfortable for passengers in the back. The seats were significantly below the seats in front, hence we could not see ahead of us - only out the side windows.
Review by: Shirley K, January 2015
The 1/2 day tour took us by the cathedral by bus, not inside, and drove by the Viama Shopping Center, by the city hall and colonial palace. We did visit the Black Pearl Museum. We were left at the Municipal Market for 3 hours. Sandra from the tourist office graciously drove us back to our hotel.
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