The best museums Saint-Denis

This museum owes its existence to two Reunionese, Georges Athenas and Alexandre Merlot, who decided in 1912 to collect works and open a museum in their home town in honour of Léon Dierx, the famous local poet who died that year. In this superb Creole hut you can see a few sketches by Gauguin, a Chagall, a self-portrait by Vollard, paintings by Vuillard, Rouault, Caillebotte, Bourdelle, Carrière, Guillaumin... The curator regularly proposes temporary exhibitions. We never tire of them.

Situated in a superb mid-19th century Creole house, renovated and modified between 1987 and 1991, the mission of this art library is to promote contemporary art in Reunion Island by encouraging local and regional artists. You have to go there, if only for the place, which regularly hosts temporary exhibitions (vernissages are often great festive moments, with music, stories, etc.). The specialised library has 2,000 items, which it lends to art lovers for a minimum of €15 per year.

Located in the State Garden, this museum occupies the premises of the former Legislative Palace, a historic monument in colonial style built in 1834. Focused on biodiversity, it exhibits the flora and fauna of the islands of the southwestern Indian Ocean, including a beautiful collection of naturalized Malagasy lemurs on the first floor. The main attraction of the museum is undoubtedly the coelacanth, a fish from the Mozambique Channel. A good refreshment would do it good.