There is a fairly good selection of restaurants and hotel dining rooms offering a number of different cuisines. The majority of them are in Cayenne, although French, Continental, Vietnamese, Chinese, Creole and Indonesian restaurants can be found elsewhere.
National specialities:
• A local speciality is the bouillon d’aoura, a dish of smoked fish, crab, prawns, vegetables and chicken, served with aoura, the fruit of Savana trees.
• The forest also provides a rich supply of game such as, collard peccary, paca and tapir. These are usually eaten as a fricassee and are accompanied by rice and kidney beans.
National drinks:
• Ti' Punch, a traditional aperitif of lime, sugar cane syrup and rum usually accompanied by cod rolls and black pudding.

There are nightclubs in Cayenne, Kourou and St Laurent du Maroni. Cayenne also has one cinema featuring French-language films. Cinemas can also be found in Kourou and St Laurent.

Within the past few years, a great many new boutiques have opened offering a wide range of merchandise. Good buys are basketry, embroidery, hammocks, pottery, wood sculpture and gold jewellery. Shopping hours: Mon-Sat 0800-1300, 1600-1830, Sun 0900-1230. Tipping: In hotels and restaurants, a 10 per cent tip is usual.