Pape'ete has something of an image problem. French Polynesia's busy port capital does have heavy rush-hour traffic and ugly concrete developments, but it also has a beautiful waterfront where yachts, ferries and cargo boats come and go, and a thriving market full of South Pacific atmosphere. There are abundant cafйs, mobile snack vans and eateries along this strip and it's a lovely place to mill about and soak up the scene. Legacies of the region's maritime history are all over the place and the ghosts of Bougainville and Cook are omnipresent along Pape'ete's coast. The market, Marchй du Pape'ete, is a colourful and vibrant place, and on Sunday morning it's at its busiest. The market covers a whole city block just back from the waterfront. The original buildings were erected in 1847. It has been rebuilt twice since then and is now an airy two-storey structure with fruit, vegetables, meat and fish downstairs, and clothes and arts & crafts upstairs.