French Guiana is best known for the infamous penal colony to which convicts and undesirables were deported from France. For a long time the small archipelago was known by the name of “Devil’s Island.” The notorious convict settlements were built in 1852. Today, discover a lush, green landscape, where tropical foliage has grown over the old prison buildings and softened their aspect from forbidding to quaint. The most famous prisoners were Alfred Dreyfus, the French Army officer falsely convicted of treason, and Henri Charrière, who was immortalized in the movie “Papillon” for supposedly being the only convict to escape from “the Green Hell.” Please be advised that due to the under-developed nature of this destination, organized tours are not available.