The town of Pointe-a-Pitre is surrounded by the communes of Les Abymes, Baie-Mahault and Le Gosier. Pointe-à-Pitre is on a limestone plateau, which was a factor for the construction of the city. The bay, Petit Cul-de-Sac Marin, offers a sheltered port. Aside from the French architecture, this area is more like suburban America with high rises, shopping centers and freeways.
Like any other Eastern Caribbean city, Pointe-a-Pitre experiences quite evenly spread rainfall during the year, with a wetter season between July and November which coincides with hurricane season.
The development of the city was important and relatively rapid, partly thanks to the corsairs. Unfortunately, in 1780, a great fire entirely destroyed the city. Sixty three years later, in 1843, it was again destroyed by an earthquake. The history of Pointe-à-Pitre is marked by many disasters: the fires of 1850, 1871, and 1931, the earthquakes of 1851 and 1897, and the hurricanes of 1865 and 1928. The city also experienced several epidemics of cholera. Its ideal location and large sheltered port have nonetheless allowed Pointe-à-Pitre to become Guadeloupe's largest city and economic capital.
