Moris
🏛️ Culture, history & markets · Port Louis
Port Louis: market, Aapravasi Ghat & Caudan
A day in the lively capital: the Central Market's spices and street food, the UNESCO immigration depot, Chinatown, the Citadel and the Caudan Waterfront.
Port Louis is hot, busy and fascinating. Start at the Central Market (fruit, spices, herbal teas and the best street food: dholl puri, gateau piment, alouda). Nearby, the Aapravasi Ghat (UNESCO) is where nearly half a million indentured labourers, mostly from India, arrived after 1834; their descendants make up most of today's population.
Walk through Chinatown and past the colonial Government House, climb to Fort Adelaide (the Citadel) for the view, then relax at the Caudan Waterfront with the Blue Penny Museum and its famous stamps. Weekdays are busiest; on Sunday most of the city is closed.
- Street food at the Central Market
- Aapravasi Ghat, UNESCO World Heritage
- Chinatown and colonial buildings
- Blue Penny Museum (Mauritius stamps)
Getting there
🚗 By car: 45 min (32.9 km) off-peak. Park at the Caudan Waterfront car park (paid) and walk everywhere. Directions in Google Maps ↗
- 🚕 Taxi from the villa: about Rs 1,350–1,800 one way per car (agree the price first; a return trip with waiting time is often negotiable).
- 🚌 Bus: Express bus Black River → Port Louis (Victoria or Immigration station) · 1h15–1h30 · Rs 40–60 (CHF 1–1)
Tips
- 💡 Avoid the rush hours (7:00–9:30 and 16:00–18:00) on the M1/M2: traffic jams are serious.
- 💡 Watch your pockets in the market.
- 💡 Try alouda (a sweet basil-seed milk drink) at the market's famous stalls.