Papeete

Papeete is the capital city of French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of the French Republic in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Papeete is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, of which Papeete is the administrative capital.

It is the primary center of Tahitian and French Polynesian public and private governmental, commercial, industrial and financial services, the hub of French Polynesian tourism and a commonly used port of call. The Windward Islands are themselves part of the Society Islands.

The name Papeete, sometimes also spelled Pape’ete in Tahitian, means "water from a basket". The urban area of Papeete had a total population of 136,771 inhabitants at the August 2017 census, 26,926 of whom lived in the commune of Papeete proper.

CLIMATE

Papeete features a tropical monsoon climate with a wet season and dry season. However, precipitation is observed even during the city's dry season. The dry season is short, covering only the months of August and September.

The rest of the year is wet, with the heaviest precipitation falling in the months of December and January. Temperatures are relatively constant throughout the course of the year, averaging around 27 °C (81 °F).

ATTRACTIONS

The waterfront esplanade.

Bougainville Park (once named Albert Park), in honour of a former Belgian king and World War One hero, is now named for Louis Antoine de Bougainville, the first French explorer to circumnavigate the globe.

Cathedral of Notre Dame of Papeete.

The Territorial Assembly is the heart of the Polynesian government and contains the Territorial Assembly building, the High Commissioner's residence and also a once popular clubhouse of Paul Gauguin. It was also once the site of the royal residence and palace of Queen Pomare IV of Tahiti, who ruled from 1827 to 1877.

Presidential palace.

The Papeete Tahiti Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The Monument to Pouvanaa a Oopa (a decorated World War I hero, Tahitian nationalist, and deputy to Paris for the Tahitian Territorial Assembly).

The Mairie (town hall).

Papeete Market.

SEAPORTS

Traveling tourists arrive and depart Papeete via cruise ship at Papeete Harbor.

AIRPORTS

Faa'a International Airport, which was completed and opened in 1962.