"Port-Louis" Port Louis by Klod5

Port Louis Travel Guide: 82 reviews and 295 photos

The outskirts of Port-Louis - Port Louis

Port-Louis is the capital of Mauritius. Capital to the suffocating, populous and loud ambiance.

Backed by mountains at the north-western end of the island, the burgeoning capital of Port Louis is a large city (in proportion to the size of Mauritius), though it contains a relatively small percentage of the country's total population. During the day, it bustles with big-city commercial activity - snarling traffic, honking horns and all. By night, in contrast, all is quiet - dare we say 'dead' ? - except for the swish new Le Caudan Waterfront, where you'll find a casino, cinemas, shops, bars and restaurants. There's a distinct Muslim area around Muammar El Khadafi Square (appropriately enough at the opposite end of the city from the local hat-tip to the Yanks, John F Kennedy St) and a Chinatown around Royal St. The city centre is easily covered on foot.

If you're interested in Islamic architecture, stop by Port Louis' oddly located Jummah Mosque, built in the 1850s in the middle of Chinatown, and Fort Adelaide, which so closely resembles a Moorish fortress that locals call it the Citadel. Fort Adelaide is the only one of Port Louis' four British forts that's still accessible and not in ruins; the views from its hilltop, harbourside location are ace.

Place de l'Indépendance

Business center is seat of the banks and the main enterprises of the country, Port-Louis is also the Government's seat, of the Parliament and the main Judicial Court.

The Lourdes of the Indian Ocean, Père Laval's Shrine is just north-east of the town centre at Ste-Croix. Père Laval - who is said to have converted more than 67,000 people during his 23 years on Mauritius - is remembered with a colourful plaster statue atop his tomb. Pilgrims swear by the statue's healing powers and come in droves to touch it.

The Dodo

A good place to get a feel for city life is the Port Louis Market, near the water in the heart of downtown. With sections devoted to fruits and vegetables, meats and fish, souvenirs, crafts, clothing and spices, be ready to practise some hard bargaining. While in the neighbourhood, most visitors drop by the Natural History Museum to see a stuffed replica of that 'abnormal member of a group of pigeons', the dodo, which has been extinct since the late 17th century. The museum also houses stuffed representations of several other extinct birds as well as specimens of animals and fish that are still with us. The Dodo is a way of bird, close to the gobbler, who lived on the island before its colonization. It has been wiped out completely by the Dutch colonizers who hunted this animal too much, little shy.

The botanists one noted that the threat of the disappearance, present of the rose wood, is bound to the disappearance, there are three centuries of the sleep. Indeed the digestive system of the Dodo, that consumed the seeds of this tree, attacked the cuticula that protects seed, and raised its sleeping.

The only other regular exhibitor in the city is the Mauritius Postal Museum, featuring a collection of Mauritian stamps and assorted philately.

You can see more on my website :

Préparez votre voyage à l'île Maurice

See also, on VT :

Mauritius = 68 - 111 - 5 - Page Views : 2,131
Cap Malheureux = 4 - 7 - 0 - Page Views : 284
Curepipe = 7 - 10 - 0 - Page Views : 519
Mahébourg = 0 - 2 - 0 - Page Views : 201
Pamplemousses = 9 - 20 - 1 - Page Views : 676
Port Louis = 14 - 39 - 3 - Page Views : 1,000
Quatre Bornes = 8 - 17 - 1 - Page Views : 1,005
Rose Hill = 26 - 36 - 1 - Page Views : 667
Tamarin = 6 - 8 - 0 - Page Views: 445

* = number of tips - number of photos - number of travelogues - page views on Oct 30, 2004

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Pros and Cons

Pros:The teeming and living side of a tropical city, with its ambiance good child
Cons:The suffocating heat and the pollution of the city
In a nutshell:Port-Louis modernizes itself and it doesn't so badly fit him.

Last visit to Port Louis: Feb 2000
Intro Updated Nov 2, 2004
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Reviews (14)

The bazaar Shopping (2)

Don't fail to visit the typical Bazaar of Port-Louis ! more travel advice

Casino Nightlife (1)

The casino is situated to Port-Louis, on the Caudan Watterfront more travel advice

Any price on the Bazaar (and others... Warnings and Dangers (1)

These women who choose with attention their apples of love are going to negotiate the price announced by the seller... more travel advice

No price on the market Favorites (5)

These women who choose with attention their apples of love are going to negotiate the price announced by the seller... more travel advice

Travelogues (3)

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Comments (4)

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Maillekeul Oct 27, 2004 at 9:08 AM

Ah, qu'est-ce que j'irai bien sur l'Ile Maurice, moi... ! Great page
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keeweechic Aug 2, 2004 at 9:07 PM

Now this sounds a fascinating area.. The muslim architecture sounds wonderful. Quite a contrast of sights it seems.
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irisbe May 1, 2003 at 12:20 PM

Merveilleux :-) marvelous page you have put here, terrific photography and sometimes critical but honest writing!
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Kristina1701 Apr 26, 2003 at 4:51 AM

excellent page; what a beautiful place!