Things to see and do Saint-Louis

This 18th century estate, classified as a historical monument, breathes the history of coffee growing in Bourbon. It consists of a mansion with a huge courtyard. It includes a museum dedicated to furniture, textiles, porcelain and other art objects from Reunion and the Indian Ocean. In the store, you can buy beautifully crafted products in limited series and made with inspiration from the museum's works.

Europe's largest cane sugar production unit, it produces 40 tonnes of sugar per hour, meaning that a semi-trailer loaded with sugar leaves the plant every half-hour, while a truck overflowing with sugar cane enters the plant every 4 minutes! The white smoke is not coming from the sugar factory itself, but from the adjoining power plant. It uses the sugar mill's bagasse to produce energy. A visit to the factory is a fascinating experience, with a tour that will stimulate all five senses.

A magnificent symbol of the Muslim faith, with its elegant minaret that rises 33 m above the city centre, this mosque, with its Eastern charms through its Indo-Pakistani architecture, was built in 1975 and inaugurated in October 2002. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Muslims of Saint-Louis working all over the island could only meet on Fridays for congregational prayer, which they practiced in a room located at the current address of Photo Lux, opposite the mosque. Its name "Mubarak" means "who is blessed"

Built in the middle of the 19th century, this beautiful church, located opposite the town hall, was a symbol of the prosperity of the early years of the Second Empire. Today it is the largest and most vast religious building in Reunion Island. It is even one of the three largest churches (and not cathedrals) in the world with its 25 m high and its 1,000 m² surface area. For the record, the other two largest churches are in Saint-Louis of Senegal and Saint Louis of Missouri in the United States. In 1982, it was listed as a historical monument.

This pond offers picnickers banks planted with badamiers, neems and eucalyptus trees. At least on the sea side, where its shore is welcoming with its gently sloping lawns; the part on the plain side, on the other hand, is covered with swamps, with the proliferation of salads and water hyacinths nourished by the fertilizers that flow into it. A nature and bird reserve, the site is placed under the protection of the Conservatoire national du littoral. It is one of the few places where you may see the Bourbon Egret, an endangered endemic bird.

Built in 1732, it is the oldest known Christian building on the island. Rivière-Saint-Louis has long been the cradle of wood craftsmanship, thanks in particular to Father Delaporte, who trained in cabinet-making and basalt carving, as evidenced by the chapel's neo-Gothic-inspired liturgical furnishings. Particularly noteworthy are the choir, pulpit, nave and gallery. Listed as a historic monument since 1988, the chapel is perfectly preserved.