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| Mauritius
Information: General
| North | South
| East | West
| Center |
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Port
Louis
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Port Louis was used only during summer (due to
prevailing winds) by the Dutch and the French since
the 1600's, and early 1700's. However, it took all its
importance when, in 1735 Labourdonnais decided to make
Port Louis the main harbour and the administration headquarters
of Mauritius. |
Labourdonnais
had the city plan made, ordered the erection of buildings
hosting services that were essential to the colony...
and to the good profits of the "Compagnie des Indes."
Among these infrastructures were the government and
military headquarters, aqueducts, hospitals, schools,
granaries, boat repairs, a printing office, a foundry,
and... a powder mill. Some of these works, especially
the canals for wastewaters that run across the streets,
can still be seen today.
Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius and received
in 1964, the status of |
|
city.
Port Louis has a residential population of above 150,000
but receives as much visitors during daytime as it is
first of all the city of businesses.
Most medium to large organisations have their head offices
or at least a department or agency in Port Louis. Consequently,
on week days and in day time Port-Louis is very
busy with heavy road traffic but gets very quiet and
empty as from 7.00 p.m.; at least in the centre.
Climate
Generally dry and sunny, the climate can be either hot
or very hot. |
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Topography |
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Situated
on the northwest coast, it lies at the feet of the Moka
range of mountains, which almost surrounds it. Being
small in area, the topography is regular: flat with
a gentle slope to the sea.
Peculiarity: Traffic jams. During rush hours (and now
all day long some days,) one must count 20 to 40 minutes
to drive across Port Louis. In the
morning, the South part of the motorway is so jammed
that it can take more than 1 hour to |
| drive the last
25 kilometres. From the North it is hardly better. |
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| To
See |
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Port-Louis
itself and as a whole is a place of interest, but more
precisely, we would recommend the "Place d'Armes"
and Chinatown.
Place D'Armes
The place d'Armes is unavoidable as it is the converging
point of the North / South traffic and the main entrance
and exit points of Port Louis.
It is the most ancient part of Port Louis although many
of the very old buildings have now been replaced by
roads and tall modern buildings.
It is especially a good starting point for visiting
the other parts of the town and the few monuments such
as the original government house, the most ancient theatre
of the Indian Ocean, the few paved roads (rue du vieux |
|
conseil,
Georges Guibert street,) the St Louis (Roman catholic)
and St James (Church of England) cathedrals, the central
market, the national and postal museums just
to name a few.
Access to the waterfront is easy too. |
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The
China Town |
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The
Chinatown of Port-Louis is also in the old Port
Louis and is fascinating as the atmosphere is really
different from the neighbourhood. The eldest inhabitants
of the Port-Louis Chinatown dress the Chinese way and
have kept a deep Chinese accent making their speeches
incomprehensible.
Tiny shops, side-by-side all sell the same products
obviously, as they all sell all products. |
Second hand
spare parts, plastic toys, Chinese paintings, clothes,
books and medicines may be found in the same shop.
The heat, dust and the strong smell spread by the ingredients
and spices, proper to Chinese cuisine, will give
you a real impression of China. For the moment, this
very animated region of Port Louis is quite deadly at
night. There is an effort to encourage the small restaurants
and shops to remain open in the evening but with not
much success yet. |
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| To
Do |
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By day it is enough to stroll
down the small streets and observe the happenings.
The shopping centres are interesting as the boutiques
are pretty well set and there are some good bargains
to make, especially since the Mauritius decided
to become a duty-free country. However, it
is far more amusing to shop in the more typical areas
and even at the central market.
The Port Louis Central Market has been renovated
in 2004 and is now a far better organised place, but
it has of course lost some of its peculiarity. Visiting
the bazaar is surely quite fun but is no more a "must"
as the same type of goods and more typical atmospheres
can be found in the other towns' markets, namely in
Mahebourg. |
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The National History Museum and the other private
museums remain interesting, especially when they carry
out specific exhibitions.
Signal Mountain is accessible again; it offers a nice
view on the Capital.
By night, there is really not much; a few movies, a
theatre play sometimes and that's it. Let's hope
that the municipal efforts to wake up Port Louis at
night will pay as when there is a special event (concert
or play,) Port Louis suddenly becomes as glorious
as it used to be. |
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Restaurants |
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The restaurants in
Port Louis are as varied as numerous. It is difficult
to keep track of their evolution and to give advice
as most of them are small, open only at midday, accessible
easily only by foot, to the every day repeating customers.
We would nonetheless mention La Flore Mauricienne,
the oldest restaurant of the Indian Ocean, with its
terrace on the city centre. L'Imprevu, in the region
of the Caudan Waterfront; fair food at very affordable
prices. Ah Niong is no doubt the best of the small
Chinese restaurants (but specialised in Creole
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food from Reunion
island.) Ah Niong is found off Labourdonnais street,
the one that leads to Signal Mountain.
For the undecided, we would suggest a stroll around
the waterfront where the choice is wide. |
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| Accommodation |
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There is no proper accommodation
facilities in Port Louis other than the three business
hotels that are the St Georges, The Labourdonnais
and the Suffren. |
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| Updated:
June 2006 |
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| Accommodation:
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| Lodges
& Guesthouses,
Bungalows
110-150 Euro, Villas
180-360 Euro, Luxury
Villas |
| Hotel
Promotions, Golf
Hotels Mauritius, Honeymoon
Packages, Early Booking Offers, Spa
Hotels |
| 2
& 3 star Mauritius Hotels, 4
Star Hotel Mauritius, 5
Star Mauritius Hotels |
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Mauritius
for Two:
Culture
/ Sightseeing,
Holidays
in Spas, Honeymoon
in Mauritius, Weddings |
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Active
Holidays:
Golf Holidays,
Hiking
Holidays, Horse
Riding Holidays, Kite
Surfing Holidays, Mountain
Biking Holidays, Nautical
Holidays |
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Vehicles:
Car
Rentals, Vehicle
hire services, Airport
Transfers |
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