Travel Guide Port Louis

Port Louis, the island's capital, is bordered by the Moka chain and topped by two of Mauritius's "highest" peaks: Le Pouce at 812 m and Pieter Both at 821 m. Protected by a bosky bower, the town stands on the seafront and offers a fairly simple urban layout based around well-defined cultural and commercial attractions. On the harbor side: the Caudan Waterfront and Port Louis Waterfront shopping and leisure areas, oceanarium and museums. On the "mountain" side: old Port Louis and its wealth of attractions - House of Digital Art, Chinatown, bazaar, places of worship..A metropolis on a human scale, Port Louis, despite several attempts at decentralization (including an expressway bypassing the city), remains the country's nerve center and a bottleneck for all motorists crossing it at rush hour. Sparsely populated, the city only vibrates during the day and slumbers when its employees leave, preferring to live in the outlying towns. As such, it is one of the few capitals in the world to offer no real nightlife.One day is enough to discover the sights of the city, whose architectural heritage and various museums are no less interesting than the eclectic atmosphere of its markets and busy streets: arteries crowded with cars and bicycles, sidewalks cluttered with street vendors, old-fashioned stalls set against brand-new buildings... Port Louis is a change of scenery, and knows how to give change. Lively, heterogeneous and untidy, it juxtaposes modern buildings with historic residences, tangible witnesses to a colonial past. Saris rub shoulders with costumes, pagodas with Hindu temples. As you approach the ancient wooden houses, you get a glimpse of their former splendor and find the courage to climb up to the citadel for a panoramic view of the city. But the muggy atmosphere pushes us towards the port and its airy shopping areas. We do a bit of shopping and return to the coolness of the coast (unless you're staying in town for a cultural immersion).