By the water · The waterfront

Caudan Waterfront

Salt in the air, colour overhead. A gentle introduction to the capital.

Colourful umbrellas and palm trees between the buildings of Caudan Waterfront

A CLOSER LOOK

Meet the place.

Start where the city meets the harbour. At Caudan, pedestrian lanes bring together shops, terraces, craft stalls and the Blue Penny Museum. The familiar canopy of umbrellas is one small part of a waterfront that rewards a slower look.

Look beyond the shop windows to the working port across the water. The waterfront’s contemporary life sits alongside traces of the docks and the maritime trade that shaped Port-Louis. It makes a useful starting point before moving into the older streets.

Before you go

The waterfront, shops and museum have different opening arrangements. Check the venue you intend to visit rather than assuming one timetable applies to everything.

About these notes

Written from the references below. Opening hours, admission and access should be checked with the venue before your visit.

KEEP YOUR CURIOSITY GOING

Another side of the city.

A trader reads a newspaper behind a vegetable stall at Port Louis Central Market© Henri Fayolle
Food & markets

Central Market

Come to the Central Market with a little appetite and room to browse. A food stop, a look through the produce stalls and time to compare a few souvenirs make a satisfying first visit.

The old city
Pedestrians beneath red lanterns in a narrow Chinatown street in Port Louis
Neighbourhoods

Chinatown

Old shopfronts, painted walls and flavours carried across an ocean.

Royal Street & its side streets
Aapravasi Ghat behind a white fence and large trees, with a heritage information board
History & culture

Aapravasi Ghat

A place to pause with the histories of migration and indentured labour.

Trou Fanfaron
Your city, a little closer

A few places to begin

Guided tourPort-Louis heritage & street-food walking tourCity historyPort-Louis, Capital City of MauritiusPlaceCaudan WaterfrontPlaceCentral MarketPlaceChinatown
Port-Louis
Open the city map