Mauritius Information
Port-Louis
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.
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.
Topography
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.
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.
To see
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.
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.
The China Town
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.
To do
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.
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.
The general picture of holiday accommodation in Mauritius is constantly changing, as Mauritius is adapting to the fast expanding holiday industry. Although Mauritius is still at an early stage of its development as a tourism destination, it enjoys a well-established reputation as far as accommodation or rather hospitality is concerned.
From the few exclusive hotels of the 80's and earlier, Mauritius had a fast expanding hotel industry in the 90's, all capitalising on the Sea, Sand & Sun concept. Private beach villas also played an important role, although their rentals were mostly on an informal basis, directed towards repeaters.
Since the turn of the century, we witnessed a consolidation of the hotel industry with greater professionalism in all respects, a wider range of services and leisure activities and a higher rate of occupancy. In parallel, the offer of other types of holiday accommodations, namely self-catering accommodation and private beach villas also increased. The non-hotel accommodations became important partners of the industry and the authorities concerned started implementing regulations and quality standard requirements.
Guest houses and Bed & Breakfast units are the last ones to join the band wagon. Although there are still very few of them, they had an excellent start in terms of quality. Encouraged by the long awaited "liberalisation" of air access, guest houses should hopefully make-up the "next generation," at a moment where the higher segment of the tourism market is looking in the direction of small-scale accommodation units and truly personalised service.
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.
The general picture of holiday accommodation in Mauritius is constantly changing, as Mauritius is adapting to the fast expanding holiday industry. Although Mauritius is still at an early stage of its development as a tourism destination, it enjoys a well-established reputation as far as accommodation or rather hospitality is concerned.
From the few exclusive hotels of the 80's and earlier, Mauritius had a fast expanding hotel industry in the 90's, all capitalising on the Sea, Sand & Sun concept. Private beach villas also played an important role, although their rentals were mostly on an informal basis, directed towards repeaters.
Since the turn of the century, we witnessed a consolidation of the hotel industry with greater professionalism in all respects, a wider range of services and leisure activities and a higher rate of occupancy. In parallel, the offer of other types of holiday accommodations, namely self-catering accommodation and private beach villas also increased. The non-hotel accommodations became important partners of the industry and the authorities concerned started implementing regulations and quality standard requirements.
Guest houses and Bed & Breakfast units are the last ones to join the band wagon. Although there are still very few of them, they had an excellent start in terms of quality. Encouraged by the long awaited "liberalisation" of air access, guest houses should hopefully make-up the "next generation," at a moment where the higher segment of the tourism market is looking in the direction of small-scale accommodation units and truly personalised service.
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