New Caledonia Hotels

New Caledonia located in the region of Melanesia in the southwest Pacific. It comprises a main island, the Loyalty Islands, and several smaller islands. Approximately half the size of Taiwan, it has a land area of 18,575.5 square kilometres. The population was estimated in January 2008 to be 244,410. The capital and largest city of the territory is Noumea. The currency is the CFP franc.

Since 1986 the United Nations Committee on Decolonization has included New Caledonia on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. New Caledonia is set to decide whether to remain within the French Republic or become an independent state in a referendum to be held between 2014 and 2019.

Noumea, the capital is also the seat of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, formerly the South Pacific Commission an international organization. There's no better place to experience the Pacific with a taste of France than New Caledonia, where Melanesian tradition blends with French sophistication. This mix of the chic yet casual, très French but ultimately Pacific comes together with peerless élan in Noumea, the cosmopolitan capital.

Dining out and shopping run the gamut from gourmet restaurants to humble roulottes, from Chinatown's colourful shops to the expensively elegant, air-conditioned boutiques on rue de Sebastopol. When you leave the capital, the urban scenery gives way to a wealth of changing landscapes - the rolling plains of la brousse (the bush), lush river valleys, steep mountains coursed by tumbling waterfalls, cool rainforests and wild coastlines.

Grande Terre is the main island with rugged mountains, waterfalls and the world's largest coral lagoon. To the Southeast, lies romantic Ile des Pins with its slender pines, white-sand beaches and emerald lagoon. To the east, life proceeds at a leisurely pace in the relaxed Loyalty Islands: Mare, steeped in Kanak culture, Lifou and Ouvea.