Mauritius. A word which evokes the feeling of a tropical paradise in my mind. I really didn't know much about Mauritius before we bought flights there. It was cheap on Air Asia, I hadn't been and the word itself seemed magical. Otherwise I had no idea what to expect.
Then I went. And was so thankful I did!
Mauritius is what you would expect – a tropical paradise – but so much more. It's beautiful, the people are lovely and there are so many more places to visit in Mauritius than just the beach.
Even better still is that it's modern and easy to visit. This is a slice of tropical Africa that's super simple with English spoken everywhere, good roads and is, quite simply, paradise.
Port Louis
Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius. It's a small city, as far as capitals go, but there are enough Port Louis Mauritius attractions that it's worth spending a half day here wandering around.
Most of the Mauritius tourism places to visit in this city are a short walk from one another so I recommend catching a public bus or driving and parking at Le Caudan Waterfront and then exploring on foot. Below, are the tourist attractions in Mauritius that we visited in this city.
Le Caudan Waterfront
One of the best places to see in Mauritius if you want to eat, hang out and learn about the local history is Le Caudan Waterfront.
This area, right in the middle of Port Louis, consists of nice shopping centres, restaurants, a casino and the Blue Penny Museum (more below). It's a nice place to eat a leisurely lunch while people watching and soaking up the atmosphere.
Blue Penny Museum
The Blue Penny Museum is primarily dedicated to two of the rarest stamps in the world, the Mauritian one-penny and two-pence stamps of 1847. However, there is also plenty of information about the history of the island.
It's probably the best museum on the island and worth adding to your list of Mauritius things to do and see.