Welcome to Port Louis

The beaches of Mauritius are close to perfect, with fine white sand and clear water running to heavenly shades of blue. Some of the island's best beaches on the west coast are easily reached from Port Louis. Flic en Flac is the longest beach in Mauritius and features a beautiful lagoon. Grand Baie, 12 miles (20km) to the north of the capital, is a major tourist centre, offering watersports, shops, nightlife and restaurants to complement its splendid beach and deep sheltered bay. Also on the north coast road is Pereybere, one of the island's favoured swimming spots. The Baie du Tamarin is at the mouth of the Tamarin River in a beautiful setting, and is popular for surfing, with Indian Ocean rollers washing the beach all year round. In the southwest is Le Morne Brabant, characterised by a basaltic outcrop and beaches shaded by casuarinas and coconut trees. Snorkellers enjoy Trou-aux-Biches with its shallow waters and coral reefs.

The lively Caudan Waterfront in Port Louis features the Blue Penny Museum, which is primarily devoted to Mauritian art and history, but whose place of pride is given to two of the rarest stamps in the world: the Mauritian 1847 'Post Office' Penny Red and Twopence Blue, estimated to be worth more than US$1 million apiece. Mauritius was the fifth country in the world to begin issuing postage stamps, back in 1847, and some of the few remaining early island stamps are now highly valued around the world. The museum is run by the Mauritius Commercial Bank, which formed a consortium of local companies to purchase the stamps at an auction in Switzerland in 1993, and bring them home for posterity.

A short taxi ride to the south of Port Louis is the Domaine Les Pailles cultural centre and nature park, covering more than 1,500 hectares (3,707 acres) and offering plenty of entertainment for visitors. Activities include horse-drawn carriage and train rides, viewing a working replica of an ox-powered sugar mill, a rum distillery, exploring a herb garden and natural spring. There is also an onsite horse riding centre, several restaurants, a jazz club and casino.

The small island of Ile aux Cerfs (Stag Island) off the east coast of Mauritius is a popular tourist haven, managed by the adjacent Touessrok Hotel, but open to the public. The island, featuring splendid tropical vegetation and encircled by magnificent beaches, can be reached by boat from the small fishing village of Trou d'eau Douce. The island is equipped with a bar, restaurant and shops, as well as watersports facilities from parasailing to windsurfing. The most recent, and somewhat controversial, development on the island is an 18-hole Bernhard Langer designed championship golf course, which affords a sea view from each hole and often requires the novelty of hitting a tee-shot over a natural sea inlet onto the fairway.

La Vanille Reserve des Mascareigne is nature reserve best known for its thousands of crocodiles and the giant tortoises, which they are helping re-introduce to the island of Rodrigues. Children can sit on the giant tortoises and watch the crocodiles being fed. The shop sells crocodile skin products, and the restaurant serves crocodile steak.

Those who enjoy seeking out some culture along with their sunshine holiday should visit the town of Moka, seven miles (12km) south of Port Louis; Moka is not only Mauritius' academic centre but also blessed with some beautiful scenery and impressive historic manor houses. Home of the University of Mauritius and the Mahatma Ghandi Institute, the town is tasked with preserving the island's Indian culture. There is an Indian folk museum to visit, and the Eureka House (now a museum) dating from 1830. Moka can be reached by bus or taxi from Port Louis or Curepipe.

The diversity of the Mauritian population is never more obvious than during a visit to the lively, bustling and colourful Central Market in Port Louis, accessed from Farquhar Street, near the harbour. When you enter take note of the intricate ironwork on the gates, erected in 1844, dedicated to Queen Victoria. Inside the market is a whirl of Muslim traders, swarthy Indian touts, Chinese and Creoles, all demanding attention as they offer their wares. It is advisable to visit the market early, before the heat of the day descends (it opens at 6am every day including Sundays), and be prepared to have your senses assailed with a variety of odours from the fruit, herbs, spices, potions and lotions and various other goods offered for sale.

Port Louis' Natural History Museum is well visited mainly for one single important exhibit: a replica of the flightless bird, the legendary dodo, which has been extinct since the end of the 17th century. Researchers believe the dodo was a member of the pigeon family, which weighed about 50 pounds (23kg) fully grown. The bird was found only on the island of Mauritius, and was discovered by the Portuguese explorers around 1505. The bird became extinct because of the predators such as dogs, pigs, rats and monkeys that were introduced to the island by European colonisation. Numerous other Mauritian bird species have also been driven to extinction, including two related to the dodo.

About seven miles (11km) northeast of Port Louis, and easily reached by regular buses, lies the island's premier tourist attraction, the Pamplemousses gardens (now officially called the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Gardens in honour of the late Prime Minister, but still colloquially referred to by their original name). The gardens are enclosed by beautiful wrought iron railings which are today in disrepair but when first manufactured in 1862 won a prize at an international exhibition at Crystal Palace in London.

The gardens were first laid out in 1735 around a mansion house called Mon Plaisir as a vegetable garden to supply ships calling at Port Louis. Later the house was bought by horticulturalist Pierre Poivre, who introduced plant species from around the world interspersed with indigenous species. The garden is redolent with the perfume of fruit and spice trees, and the 24 hectares (60 acres) also sport a collection of stately palms, ebony, mahogany, latania and pandanus. A great attraction is a pond full of the Giant Amazon water lily.

The small seaside resort of Souillac is sited along the rugged coast in the southern Savanne district. The appeal of Souillac lies in its scenery, as it is not a bathing spot. In striking contrast to the soft curves of the northern coastline, the high cliffs here drop abruptly to the sea to face the bracing winds of the Indian Ocean as it blows all year round. Among the features of the area is a public garden overlooking the sea, the popular Gris-Gris viewpoint, and the nearby Rochester Falls.