St. Lucia's largest estate is located just outside of Castries, the Marquis Estate is a 600-acre plantation that dates back to 1723.

Part of the Marquis Estates beauty is found in its original volcanic creation. According to studies, the Marquis area would have been among the first parts of the island to be formed. 70 million years of weathering has created a lush, dramatic landscape of mountain ridges, gentle slopes and the wide graceful river valley. The North West of St Lucia is steeped in history. The family of Empress Josephine, Napoleon's first empress, once owned the plantation Paix Bouche just along the ridge southwest of Marquis; St Lucians claim that the first Empress

of the French was actually born there and not Martinique. A civil engineer by trade, the Baron de Laborie became Governor General of the island in 1784.

In an island wide campaign he restored and improved much of the island’s infrastructure. A portion of the old French Road ran across the Marquis Estate, remnants of stone walls still remain. The settlement of Dauphin, the bay north of

Marquis, was one of great importance during this time and for a short time was the seat of government. It was blessed with the island’s only stone church and a fort was built on the point of the Babonneau Ridge to protect both the Dauphin

and Marquis Bays. It is also believed that the French governor was in residence at Marquis Estate for a brief period. The Marquis Estate was at one time well

established as one of the largest sugar estates on the island, it´s success was partly due to the river which allowed easy powering of the sugar mill by

waterwheel, also the bays wide mouth, the widest on the island allowed easy access for the exports of sugar and Marquis rum.

The old plantation home sits atop a hillside with a sweeping view along the fields of the river valley and down to the Marquis Bay. In more recent years, these fields were flowing with the broad leaves of the banana plants. Harry Atkinson, the foremost St Lucian authority on bananas, managed and cultivated the estate. During the 1980’s, the Marquis Estate was the largest banana producing estate on the island. Many elements from the estate’s past can still be found - but one of the most impressive features of the Marquis Estate is it´s lush tropical beauty.