PHOTOGRAPHIC MUSEUM

Nestled at the end of a quiet pedestrian alleyway, in an attractive ^18th-century house that belonged to the French botanist and administrator Pierre Poivre, the museum is the "passionately furious" work of the late Tristan Bréville (a fierce defender of heritage and the notion of memory in the collective sense of the term) and his wife Marie-Noëlle. Over some fifty years of personal research and investigation, the couple managed to collect over 50,000 old photos of Mauritius (scenes of life), some of which are on display here. At the same time, Tristan and Marie-Noëlle waged an assiduous battle to transform this unique collection into the National Photographic Archives of Mauritius. The battle was won, as the photos have been archived and digitized since 2023, and will be exhibited at ZIMAZ, a new independent cultural center due to open in Caudan in 2026.

Today, the museum still houses important items from the Bréville collection, including numerous cameras from the ^19th and early ^20th centuries. These include a number of rare items, such as a lens made by Charles Chevalier for Jacques Daguerre in 1839, or the very first camera invented by Louis Daguerre, which, who knows why, was bought by a Mauritian in Paris at the time. The house also exhibits autochromes and the most important collection of old postcards and films about Mauritius. A pretty boutique offers a selection of posters, old photos, books...