Saint Pierre and Miquelon
TerritoryAdministered by: France
“The last piece of New France, 25 km off Newfoundland”
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon is what remains of New France: eight small islands off the south coast of Newfoundland, French since the seventeenth century and still an overseas collectivity today. Around 6,000 people live here, the euro is the currency, the cars have French plates, and the boulangerie sells the same bread it would in Normandy.
The archipelago's golden age was American prohibition, when it became the warehouse for Canadian whisky heading illegally south — Al Capone is said to have visited, and the Cutty Sark building in Saint-Pierre stored the stock. Today it is quiet, foggy and unusually interesting: a piece of France with cod-fishing roots, French bureaucracy and North Atlantic weather.
Highlights
Saint-Pierre town
Coloured wooden houses, a French provincial town square and a heritage museum that explains both the cod and the whisky.
Île aux Marins
An abandoned fishing island a short boat ride out, with a preserved schoolhouse, a church and a shipwreck on the shore.
The Miquelon isthmus
A 12 km (7.5 mi) sand bar joining Miquelon to Langlade, formed from centuries of wrecks, with seals hauled out along it.
The prohibition story
Warehouses that stored Canadian whisky bound for the United States, and a local economy that collapsed the day prohibition ended.
Entry requirements for Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Checking your passport…
We don't hold entry details for this passport group yet.
Before you fly
The detail
- Passport validity
- Most destinations want validity beyond your stay, and some want six months. Check yours against the return date.
- Onward travel
- Airlines may ask for a return or onward ticket at check-in.
- Arrival form
- Most itineraries transit Canada, which requires an eTA for visa-exempt air passengers — arrange it before you fly.
- Health
- A hospital in Saint-Pierre; serious cases are flown to Canada or France.
- Money
- Euro. Cards are accepted but cash is common; Canadian dollars are taken at poor rates.
When to go
BestJun–Sep. AvoidNov–Mar.
Season opens; whales offshore.
The band above each month is our editorial verdict - it weighs crowds, prices and access as well as weather. The line is average daily temperature, the bars are monthly rainfall. Select a month for the figures. Climate figures: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2005–2024 normals.
What it costs
A day in Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $178
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 244 countries we have costed
The archipelago effectively closes to visitors from November to April. July and August are the only months with the full timetable.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis — Air Saint-Pierre and ferry tariffs, collectivity tourism listings (2025–2026) · confidence medium
Excludes international flights - they depend on where you fly from.
Regions to know
5Saint-Pierre
The main town: the square, the museum, the harbour and the restaurants.
Île aux Marins
The abandoned fishing island in the harbour, visited by boat.
Miquelon
The village, the lagoon and the birdwatching.
Langlade
Summer cabins, wild coast and horses on the isthmus.
The Grand Barachois
The lagoon between the two, with a resident harbour seal colony.
Practical guide
Getting there
Air Saint-Pierre from Canadian cities, plus the seasonal ferry from Fortune, Newfoundland. Fog cancels both; build in spare days.
Entry formalities
Most itineraries transit Canada, which requires an eTA for visa-exempt air passengers — arrange it before you fly.
Getting around
Saint-Pierre town is walkable. A ferry connects Miquelon, where a car or a bike is useful for the isthmus.
Money & costs
Euro. Cards are accepted but cash is common; Canadian dollars are taken at poor rates.
Safety
Extremely low crime. Fog, cold water and exposed coastline are the hazards.
Health
A hospital in Saint-Pierre; serious cases are flown to Canada or France.
SIM & internet
French mobile networks; EU roaming does not apply here despite the euro.
Driving
There are around 100 km (62 mi) of road in the whole archipelago and most of it is on Miquelon-Langlade. Fog reduces visibility to metres without warning.
Rules change - verify with an official source before you rent.
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Saint Pierre and MiquelonFrequently asked questions
How do I get there?
Flights from St John's, Halifax and Montreal, or the seasonal ferry from Fortune, Newfoundland, in about ninety minutes. Both are frequently disrupted by fog.
Do I need a Schengen visa?
No — the archipelago is French but outside Schengen. Visa-exempt nationals enter for up to 90 days; anyone needing a visa needs one endorsed for the French overseas collectivities. Note that most routes pass through Canada, so Canadian entry rules apply too.
What is the weather actually like?
North Atlantic: cool, windy and famously foggy, with summer highs around 16–18 °C. This is not a beach destination and does not pretend to be.