Must-see attractions in Mauritius, Réunion & Seychelles

  • Île aux Aigrettes

    Mauritius

    This popular ecotourism destination is a 26-hectare nature reserve on an island roughly 800m off the coast. It preserves very rare remnants of the coastal…

  • Anse Maquereau

    Seychelles

    Quite possibly the world's most beautiful beach, petite Anse Maquereau is flanked by granitic monoliths, backed by palms and caressed by waters of the…

  • Anse Marron

    La Digue

    Perhaps the most stunning natural pool and beach combo on the planet, Anse Marron sits nestled behind Gaudíesque granite boulders at the remote southern…

  • Mauritius, Anse Jonchée, Vallée de Ferney, landscape

    Vallée de Ferney

    Mauritius

    Protecting a 400-year-old forest, this reserve is an important habitat for the Mauritius kestrel, one of the world's most endangered raptors, and a visit…

  • Blue Penny Museum, stamp museum at Caudan Waterfront in Port Louis, Mauritius, Africa

    Blue Penny Museum

    Port Louis

    Although dedicated to the world-famous Mauritian one-penny and two-pence stamps of 1847, the Blue Penny Museum is far more wide-ranging than its name…

  • Eureka, Colonial House and museum, Mauritius, Africa

    Eureka

    Mauritius

    If you're only going to visit one attraction related to Mauritius' rich colonial history, choose Eureka. This perfectly preserved Creole mansion was built…

  • Pope Francis makes a prayer as he visits the mausoleum of Jacques-Desire Laval in Port Louis, Mauritius, on September 9, 2019, on the final stop of an Africa tour. - Pope Francis visit three-nation tour of Indian Ocean African countries hard hit by poverty, conflict and natural disaster. Francis' visit coincides with the 155th anniversary of the death of Father Jacques Desire Laval, a French priest who died in Mauritius in 1864 and was beatified in 1979. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI / AFP)        (Photo credit should read TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images)

    Père Laval's Shrine

    Port Louis

    The shrine of French Catholic priest and missionary Père Jacques-Désiré Laval is something of a Lourdes of the Indian Ocean, with many miracles attributed…

  • Famous tropical beach of Anse Source d'Argent

    Anse Source d'Argent

    La Digue

    Famed for being one of the most photographed beaches on the planet, Anse Source d'Argent is a sight to behold. Its dazzling white sands are lapped by…

  • Mauritius island, West coast, Rampart mountain at Tamarin

    Tamarin Beach

    Mauritius

    Locals like to wax nostalgic about Tamarin Beach and its surfing heyday, and in many ways this sandy cove still feels like a throwback to earlier times,…

  • Market fruit, vegetables, Mahebourg, Mauritius

    Monday Market

    Mauritius

    Don't miss the central foire de Mahébourg, near the waterfront. The initial focus was silks and other textiles, but these days you'll find a busy produce…

  • Victoria, Seychelles - January 7, 2020: Tourists in front of Seychelles National History Museum
- National Museum of History, Housed in Victoria's restored colonial-era Supreme Court building (1885), this terrific museum opened in late 2018

    National Museum of History

    Victoria

    Housed in Victoria's restored colonial-era Supreme Court building (1885), this terrific museum opened in late 2018. While the architecture itself is worth…

  • Street setting, People walking along the Market Street in Victoria, Mahe Island, Seychelles

    Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market

    Victoria

    No trip to Victoria would be complete without a wander through the covered market. It's small by African standards, but it's a bustling, colourful place…

  • National History Museum

    Mauritius

    This terrific museum is one of Mauritius' best. It contains fascinating early maps of the island and Indian Ocean region, paintings from colonial times,…

  • Palm-fringed Anse Takamaka, Mahe, Seychelles

    Takamaka Bay

    Mahé

    On this popular tour you learn the story behind the island's main distillery and about the rum-making process. The tour runs for between 30 and 45 minutes…

  • Mauritius, Port Louis, Central Market interior (NR)

    Central Market

    Port Louis

    Port Louis' rightly famous Central Market, the centre of the local economy since Victorian times, is a good place to get a feel for local life, watch the…

  • François Leguat Reserve

    Rodrigues

    In 1691 François Leguat wrote that there were so many tortoises on Rodrigues that 'one can take more than a hundred steps on their shell without touching…

  • Mauritius, Black River Gorges National Park, Scenic view of mountains

    Gorges Viewpoint

    Black River Gorges National Park

    On a clear day, the views from here across the gorge and down towards the west coast rank among the best on the island.

  • Ebony Forest of Chamarel

    Chamarel

    One of the most exciting conservation initiatives in Mauritius in the last few years, the Ebony Forest seeks to recreate a small pocket of indigenous…

  • St Aubin

    Mauritius

    St Aubin is an elegant plantation house that dates back to 1819; it originally sat alongside the factory but was moved in the 1970s so that its owner…

  • Blue Bay Marine Park

    Mauritius

    In an effort to protect the area's rich underwater forest of rare corals from encroaching development, the government has given Blue Bay 'marine park'…

  • Château Labourdonnais

    The North

    One of the loveliest examples of colonial architecture on the island, restored Château Labourdonnais was completed in 1859. Built in teak and sporting an…

  • Rhumerie de Chamarel

    Chamarel

    Set among the vast hillside plantations of Chamarel, the rhumerie is a working distillery that doubles as a museum showcasing the rum-making process. The…

  • Curious Corner of Chamarel

    Chamarel

    This eclectic place is utterly unlike anywhere else on the island. Essentially an interactive gallery of illusions and art, it has an upside-down room, a…

  • Victoria 1840

    Mauritius

    Worth a look, Victoria 1840 is an old sugar mill that has been lovingly refurbished to house some of the works of Yvette Maniglier, a bewitching French…

  • La Fenêtre

    Réunion

    It would be a sin to visit Les Makes and not take the forest road that leads to this viewpoint, another 10km further uphill. The view over the entire…

  • Saturday Market

    Rodrigues

    The Saturday market is as busy as Rodrigues gets and it's the best place on the island to shop for fresh produce and souvenirs. It's open the rest of the…

  • Stella Matutina

    Réunion

    Réunion's most beloved museum is dedicated primarily to the sugar industry, but also provides fascinating insights into the history of the island,…

  • Trou d'Argent

    Rodrigues

    One of the loveliest cove beaches anywhere in the Indian Ocean, this isolated spot, enclosed by low cliffs, is accessible only on foot on the coastal…

  • Beau Vallon Beach

    Mahé

    A beautiful semi-circle of sand backed by palms and takamaka trees, Beau Vallon beach is Mahé's most popular. The swimming is excellent, but there can be…

  • Anse Soleil

    Mahé

    The idyllic little beach of Anse Soleil is a pocket-sized paradise. You can pause here for lunch – there's a beach restaurant – but beware, you may never…

  • Anse Major

    Mahé

    One of the most beautiful beaches on Mahé, Anse Major is only accessible on foot from Danzil – few visitors to the Seychelles make it here. The setting is…

  • Anse Takamaka

    Mahé

    The gently curving Anse Takamaka is a gorgeous strand for walking unfettered on white sand and gaping at sunsets. Facilities include Chez Batista's bar…

  • Palmar Public Beach

    Mauritius

    Small, perfectly formed and lapped by waters a near-perfect shade of turquoise on a sunny day, this is the pick of the public beaches on Mauritius' east…

  • Nid d'Aigle

    La Digue

    Nid d'Aigle, the highest point on La Digue (333m), commands sensational views out over the island, as well as out to Mahé, Praslin, Curieuse, Félicité,…

  • Kaz Zanana

    Victoria

    This gallery, in a traditional Creole wooden structure built in 1915 and restored in the 1980s, exhibits the work of George Camille, one of the Seychelles…

  • lake mountain plant tree

    Trou aux Cerfs

    Mauritius

    About 1km west of central Curepipe, the Trou aux Cerfs is a dormant volcanic crater some 100m deep and 1km in circumference. The bowl is heavily wooded…

  • La Vanille

    Mauritius

    This busy zoo and reserve makes for a fantastic field trip with kids. The park has the greatest number of giant tortoises in captivity in the world (over…