Port-Louis,
capital of the island is often compared to a small Singapore. The city
is really quite noisy. The old houses mix with imposing buildings
there. The beautiful colonial buildings seem lost among the old
dilapidated buildings. In certain streets, one feels
out of time or a come back at the time of the colonies....
Port-Louis,
capital of the island is often compared to a small Singapore. The city
is really quite noisy. The old houses mix with imposing buildings there. The beautiful colonial buildings seem lost among the old dilapidated buildings. In certain streets, one feels
out of time or a come back at the time of the colonies.
Port-Louis
counts today a residential population of 150.000 inhabitants and being the most important business center, the city welcomes as
many visitors and businessmen daily besides the locals who work there.
Most of the important companies
have their head offices or at least a commercial or administrative
antenna in Port Louis.
The city has known its development
around its trade and fishing port which is a very active port, and one
can't miss it once downtown.
On the sea front, one discovers the Caudan Waterfront,
with important shopping malls and modern luxury shops for tourist attraction; the superb casino of Caudan, a beautiful realisation. The entrance of the casino has a
pirate ship structure, the interior, all in wood, is beautyful and represents a ship of the XVIIIe century.
Caudan, built with on the site of the old docks respecting traditional
architecture, with a key of modernism. Well a great success, for a
country in full expansion.
The Chinese
corner of Port-Louis is worth visiting. The exiguous pavements
of a cosmopolitan crowd. During day time, one comes there for shopping or having
lunch in one of the small restaurants.
The old
wooden houses of the XVIII-XIXth century, are becoming more and more rare. Fire has destroyed more than one. The others are replaced
by new small buildings.
In the city, one finds the beautiful Jummah mosque,
built in 1852. The main wooden door is very impressioning. The pleasant patio inside is beautifully decorated.
This mosque is visited every morning, except Friday, day of prayer.
Unfortunately, the Port-Louis market (1828) was destroyed, following
a fire in 1999. The market has been rebuilt and has still kept its folkloric character, yet it remains an important place in the life of the Mauritians, with its 300
fruit and vegetables traders, butchers and fishmongers. A place
full of life…
You will also be able to
taste fabulous samoussas, smell the odor of the spice stall merchant, buy herbs from the salesman promissing recovery; buy pareo or tee-shirt of your choice (careful, as
in all bazaars it is necessary to negotiate the price…)
The natural museum history, called Mauritius institute,
is situated at walking distance to the Government House. One can find beautiful collection of naturalized or reconstituted animals, where the
Dodo imposes as the emblematic figure of the island, a kind of big bird which could not fly and with a rather pleasant look. Today this
animal has completely disappeared by the fault of man.
If you are an amateur of philately, a visit of the Postal Museum is essential. You will see there a wide collection of beautiful stamps, old plates and letter-boxes…
The most expensive and rarest stamps of the world were published in
Mauritius in 1847. The “two pence deep blue” and the “orange red one
penny” are worth a real fortune today!
The Champ de Mars,
it is the hippodrome of Port Louis, built in 1812. The Mauritians' favourite passion at the season of the horse-racing
(from June to November), the hippodrome is crowdy. There, do not
hesitate to go and bet and beware of the pickpockets among the crowd.
CAP SOLEIL - ILE MAURICE - Tour opérateur (License No. 03430) Membre de AIOM (Association of Inbound Operators of Mauritius) Adresse: 5 Impasse des Ibis - Sodnac - Quatre Bornes - Ile Maurice -
Tel: [230] 427 7454 - 55 -
Fax: [230] 427 0444
Email: soleilmaurice@gmail.com
