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Mauritius Information Port-Louis
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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. |
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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.
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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.
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 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.
Updated: June 2006
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