Cayenne

**Cayenne** is a commune, the capital (prefecture) of the French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France that is in northern South America. The city is on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne river on the Atlantic coast.

## History

The first European settlement in the region was founded on the Cayenne island in 1604 by French people sent by Henry IV but the settlement was destroyed by Portuguese to enforce the Treaty of Tordesillas

French colonists came back in 1643 and founded Cayenne, but they were forced to leave once more following Amerindian attacks. In 1664, France finally succeeded at establishing a permanent settlement at Cayenne. Over the next decade the colony changed hands between the French, Dutch, and English, before being restored to France. It was captured by an Anglo-Portuguese force at the invasion of Cayenne in 1809 and administered from Brazil until 1814, when it was returned to French control. It was used as a French penal colony from 1854 to 1938.

## Geography

Cayenne is a city along the Atlantic coast on the sides of a common estuary of the Cayenne and Montsinéry rivers. It has an area of ; at the city hall, the altitude is .

The _commune_ is at  from Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni and  from Kourou. The distances to other cities out of French Guiana are:
- Paris, the national capital, la capitale nationale, .
- Fort-de-France, capital of Martinique, .
- Paramaribo, capital of Surinam,  to the northwest.
- Macapá, capital of Amapá (Brazil), .

The city is surrounded by:

### Climate

Cayenne has an equatorial climate (Köppen climate classification: **Af**) bordering on a tropical monsoon climate (Köppen climate classification: **Am**) with a dry season and a heavy monsoon the rest of year and no cold season.

The average temperature for the year in Cayenne is . The warmest month, on average, is September with an average temperature of . The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of .

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Cayenne is . The month with the most precipitation on average is May with  of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is September with an average of . There is an average of 201.0 days of precipitation, with the most precipitation occurring in May with 27.0 days and the least precipitation occurring in September with 5.0 days.

## Demographics

The inhabitants of Cayenne are known, in French, as _Cayennais_ (women: _Cayennaises_).

The city of Cayenne has a population, in 2014, of 55,817; its population density is of  inhabitants/km<sup>2</sup>.

**Evolution of the population in Cayenne**

## Sister cities

Cayenne is twinned with:
- Salvador, Bahia (Brazil)

## Sites of interest

- **Place des Palmistes** (Palms square)
- **Botanical Garden**
- **Saint-Sauveur de Cayenne** cathedral

## Related pages

- Arrondissement of Cayenne

## Other websites

- Ville de Cayenne official website
- Collectivité territorial de Guyane website
- Prefecture website
- Guyane-Amazonie Tourism

## Infobox (french commune)

- **name**: Cayenne
- **commune status**: Capital, Prefectures of France, prefecture and Communes of France, commune
- **image**: Cayenne city (8525272038).jpg
- **caption**: 2012 aerial view of Cayenne
- **image coat of arms**: Coat of arms of French Guyana.svg
- **map size**: 220px
- **adjustable map**: cayenne.PNG
- **map caption**: Location of the commune (in red) within French Guiana
- **arrondissement**: Cayenne
- **insee**: 97302
- **postal code**: 97300
- **mayor**: Sandra Trochimara
- **term**: 2020-
- **intercommunality**: Centre Littoral
- **area km2**: 23.60
- **population**: 55,198
- **population date**: Jan. 2012
- **urban area km2**: 206.9
- **urban area date**: 2010
- **urban pop**: 106,358
- **urban pop date**: Jan. 2012
- **metro area km2**: 5,087
- **metro area date**: 2010
- **metro area pop**: 121,308
- **metro area pop date**: Jan. 2012