Things to see and do Port Louis

White and turquoise, a haven of calm and freshness in the bustle of Chinatown, this mosque, the largest in Mauritius, stands at the intersection of Royale and Jummah streets. The recognition of Islamic worship dates back to 1805, when the island was ruled by the French Decaen. Built in the 1850s under the impetus of a group of Muslim merchants established in Port Louis, it was enlarged from 1878 to 1895 following the increase in the number of believers in the city. The materials used were mainly imported from Bombay (stone, wood, lime...) and the construction and extension mobilized a number of specialized workers from India. The latter did not know how to build a minaret, hence the absence of this one. Moreover, as all the workers were not necessarily Muslims and as it was necessary to do well with the men present, certain decorative touches were left free, such as the plant ornaments framing the main door, which belong more to the Hindu than to the Islamic cult! This particularity gives the building an intercultural character which echoes the Mauritian mosaic in terms of worship. One will observe the finishing and the decoration of the spires, the beautiful carved door with copper motifs, the old clock in a tower on the roof... The patio into which one enters and which precedes the prayer room reserved exclusively for men is shaded by a superb bicentennial badamier tree.

At the northern entrance to the city, an industrial building conceals one of the capital's best-kept secrets: the Kuanfu Tea Art Center. In a huge room without an opening partitioned into several tasting areas, the ritual of the tea ceremony is performed in the purest Chinese tradition. A clear sign, the Sino-Mauritians are there to evaluate the different qualities of the leaves in the repetitive and heady notes of traditional Chinese music, a time of pause in a very different place.

The experiment begins in the upper floors of the building where the famous Kuanfu Tea completes its long and slow 365-day fermentation process using the British K26 technique consisting of 21 baking phases. This method reduces the caffeine level to less than 0.017%, increases the polyphenol level to more than 32% at the same time and gives full identity to this unique ripe black tea with multiple virtues, we are told. A guide leads the tour and explains the different manufacturing processes: from leaf collection to alternative hot and cold fermentations in machines and bags, including drying on sieves, sorting, baking... Then comes the time of tasting, preceded by the time of preparation, which, as usual, is carried out in several stages, patiently explained and visually completed by a hostess: choice of service (a small teapot with tiny cups), dosage of the tea (5 grams), heating the water to 90 °C. Three infusions are then made in order to gradually lower the heat of the water in the cups and to make the taste of the tea more homogeneous. And the hostess to present and detail the multiple qualities of this tea which improves the digestive system, reinforces sleep, has an antioxidant action... and whose powder can be used as a skin mask. According to Mauristea, the company behind the Kuanfu Tea, Mauritian lands would have excellent conditions for high quality tea production. To date, Kuanfu Tea has luxury retail outlets all over the island. The tea ceremony is systematically offered there. The prices of the packages are much higher than those of other Mauritian teas and the packaging is generally more neat.

You can also visit the other Kuanfu tea factory in Dubreuil, in the centre of the island: a vast 10,000 ^m2 complex, whose tea room is said to be the largest in the world today.

At the back of the old Port-Louis and 150 m from the Champ de Mars (another witness and emblematic place of Mauritius' history), this beautiful cathedral, recently renovated, proudly stands with its spire in the middle of a park, in a quieter section of the capital.

During the French period, in the ^18th century, the building was a powder magazine, as the imposing thickness of the walls, about three meters thick, still attests, intended to protect the stocks of gunpowder to supply the ships. Towards the end of the French period, it became a jail for British prisoners of war. In 1812, under English colonization, the building was converted into an Anglican church, the first in the city, without destroying the original defensive building which was considered too "solid". Transformations were gradually made: addition of a vestibule, a porch, two chapels at the ends of the transept, construction of an octagonal spire above the bell tower, addition of stained glass windows... The body of the building itself is composed of local materials such as volcanic rock, teak wood and, more atypically, blocks of coral. The church was consecrated a cathedral in 1850. On several occasions during its history, its vocation was partially diverted. It was used as an orphanage and school for the children of indentured laborers and former slaves, but also as a refuge and hospital during the terrible cyclone of 1892 which devastated a large part of the city.

At the exit below, go and see the old Saint Mary's chapel.

This new museum occupies the island's oldest public building, and one of the first very large buildings erected under Mahé de La Bourdonnais during the French colonial era: the former military hospital of Port Louis, built in 1740 by slaves... quite a symbol. Comprising 4 buildings, it was strategically located near the port so that wounded soldiers could be transported quickly. European soldiers were cared for upstairs, while slaves were treated on the first floor, in conditions that rapidly deteriorated for the latter, until a surgeon of the time sounded the alarm. In 1782, following a smallpox epidemic and the overcrowding of the hospital, it was decided that another hospital would be built for the slaves, to separate them from the soldiers. Later, under British occupation, the hospital became a penal colony for slaves who had tried to escape. It only regained its status as a hospital after the abolition of slavery, until it was replaced by more modern units.

The multi-sensory scenography, which encourages immersion in different environments, arouses emotion and therefore reflection. One room presents little-known aspects of slave life. Another displays objects that belonged to slaves and were discovered during archaeological digs in an Albion cemetery. Yet another features a documentary on the genesis of the museum project. Numerous educational panels punctuate the tour, providing interesting explanations of rituals, traditional healing practices, the origins of sega, different forms of resistance (including women's strategies)... Particularly chilling are the articles taken from the Code Noir, the document drawn up under Louis XIV to legislate the condition of slaves, an original copy of which from the Carnégie library in Curepipe is on display at the museum.

The most disturbing and astonishing room is the one presenting life-size digital images of the faces of 63 slaves from various African countries (Mozambique, Tanzania...). They come from 63 ethnographic busts made in 1846 on a Mauritian plantation by French aristocrat, aesthete and ethnographer Eugène Huet de Froberville. In the mid-1940s, he conducted a vast study on "the races and languages of East Africa south of the equator", which led him to interview numerous former captives. Among the materials collected were these 63 plaster heads (only 49 originals survive today), 58 of which were molded from life - a sometimes long and uncomfortable operation, but essential to the work of remembrance. A number of copies have been made and stand as unique testimonies to a part of history whose iconography remains underdeveloped.

By conveying these names and faces, the museum, over and above its duty to pass on knowledge, has the great ambition of reconciling part of the Mauritian population with its tragic past by humanizing slavery and honouring "the economic and social contribution of enslaved people and their descendants". Its vocation is to go beyond the Mauritian territory and to have "an influence on the continents from which the various peoples of the island originate".

At the crossroads of art, technology, design and society, this new museum and experimental space propels Port Louis into the digital age, offering a unique venue for exhibitions, interaction and experimentation in Mauritius. Housed in a historic ^{eighteenth-century} building that bridges the gap between present and future, the space features interactive and/or immersive works and installations that not only showcase contemporary creativity, but also stimulate our imaginations, emotions and senses. It's beautiful, astonishing, completely innovative for Mauritius and, beyond that, a catalyst for greater importance to be given to art in the country by, for example, training more cultural mediators as is the case here. So we love it and we encourage you: go for it!

Renewed every 8 months, the exhibition offers a confidential but cutting-edge and ultra-qualitative selection of sound, kinetic and volumetric works, as well as interactive and augmented-reality installations. The most spectacular highlight is the immersive projection room, where visitors can stroll through a total sound and visual spectacle! Mauritian poet Edouard Maunick's poem S'il était un territoire entre midi et minuit (If there were a land between noon and midnight) is the theme of this inaugural season, which plunges us into the chaos of natural elements (volcanoes, cyclones, etc.), plays on the diffraction of light on lava and more.

Also workshops and lectures, cultural center with library. Drinks and snacks trailer in the courtyard.

This red, green and gold pagoda (symbols of happiness, prosperity and purity) is the oldest in Mauritius and the oldest witness to the Chinese presence on the island. Founded in 1842 to celebrate the cult of Guan Di (an ancient warrior deified for his exploits), it faces north so that all the deities face the sea. It has a beautiful roof with curved peaks, covered in glazed tiles. The interior exudes an immediate serenity. Admire the gold bell dating from 1869 and the beautiful copper incense burners.