Soufrière, Saint Lucia

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Soufrière is a town on the Southwest coast of Saint Lucia in the West Indies. Soufrière was the former capital of Saint Lucia during times of French rule. It is now a small sleepy fishing port with an emerging tourism industry. It boasts several attractions including a "drive-in" volcano, the Diamond Botanical Gardens with waterfall (briefly featured in the Superman II movie) and historic mineral baths, plus the nearby black sand beaches of Anse Chastanet to the north and Malgretout to the south.

The town is reputed to be the birth place of Napoleon's Empress Josephine de Beauharnais. Although the exact locale of her birth is disputed by historians, it is certain that the Empress spent much of her childhood in the town on her father's plantation.

Framing the town to the south are the picturesque Pitons - comprising the Gros Piton and Petit Piton. They rise directly up from the coral reef beds and form part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The region is popular for snorkeling and scuba diving.

Soufrière doubled as the fictional town Port Agnes, capital of the equally fictional island of Cascara in the 1985 comedy movie "Water". The movie "Creature" was also filmed there.

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