This coastal town on Mauritius's southeast coast has colonial-era buildings from the 1800s, a large fish market, and the Naval Museum documenting the 1810 Battle of Grand Port.
Mahébourg, a coastal town on Mauritius' southeastern coast, draws you in with streets lined with Dutch and French colonial buildings from the 1700s. Founded in 1805, it became the island’s capital under French rule and was central to the Battle of Grand Port—the only French naval victory engraved on Paris’ Arc de Triomphe. Wooden fishing boats fill its lagoon today, and every Monday, the market fills with spice vendors and stalls selling octopus fritters. You can snorkel above coral gardens at Blue Bay Marine Park five kilometers west or walk through the National History Museum to see recovered shipwreck cannons. Direct ferries connect Mahébourg to Île aux Aigrettes, where giant tortoises roam restored ebony forests.
Visit the National History Museum
The National History Museum occupies a French colonial mansion built in the 1770s. Its ground floor displays rusted anchors, 18th-century navigation maps, and a scale model of the 1810 Battle of Grand Port. Upstairs, you’ll find the bell from the sunken French warship Saint-Géran alongside engravings of Dutch settlers. Don’t miss the room with skeletons of extinct Mauritian species, including the dodo and broad-billed parrot. The museum’s garden contains remnants of an old sugar train and a restored governor’s carriage. Entry costs nothing, so it’s worth stopping here before exploring other parts of town.
Snorkel in Blue Bay Marine Park
Blue Bay Marine Park lies 10 minutes west of Mahébourg by car. Over 50 types of coral grow here, including blue staghorn formations visible in water less than three meters deep. Rent snorkeling gear at the beach to spot angelfish, trumpetfish, and moray eels. Glass-bottom boat tours leave every hour from the main pier, circling the bay’s protected zones. Weekends get busy with Mauritian families—visit on weekday mornings for fewer people. The eastern side near Pointe d’Esny has fewer waves, better for children or first-time snorkelers.
Stroll the Mahébourg Waterfront
Walk along Mahébourg’s red-brick waterfront as the sun dips behind Lion Mountain. Fishermen cast lines from the seawall, and older residents play card games at concrete tables under tamarind trees. Look for the stone monument marking the 1810 naval battle, then try gato piment (spicy lentil fritters) from carts near the bus station. Follow the path north to Cavendish Bridge, a concrete arch built in 1911 over La Chaux River. Bring a camera at dawn to photograph egrets wading in the lagoon’s shallow edges.
Go to the Monday Market
Mahébourg’s Monday Market spreads across six blocks with stalls selling cinnamon sticks, striped beach towels, and banana-leaf-wrapped curries. Watch vendors stack pyramids of green papayas or haggle over sacks of dried squid. Eat breakfast here: order a dholl puri (split-pea-stuffed flatbread) from the stall with a yellow tarp near the mosque. The craft section at the market’s north end sells straw hats, recycled glassware, and embroidered tea towels. Prices here are lower than in northern resorts, but still practice negotiating politely.
Tour Rault Biscuit Factory
The Rault Biscuit Factory has made cassava flour biscuits since 1870. Workers here grind cassava roots by hand, mix the dough with coconut or vanilla, and bake it on iron sheets heated with dried sugarcane stalks. Tours include samples of crispy butter biscuits paired with local black tea. The factory runs tours Monday to Saturday—arrive before noon to see the full baking process. Buy a 200-gram box of biscuits for 150 rupees; they stay fresh for up to three weeks.
Hike Ferney Valley
Ferney Valley’s nature reserve, 15 minutes north by car, has trails through forests of ebony and tamarin trees. Look for pink pigeons pecking at guava fruits or Mauritius kestrels perched on dead branches. The two-hour guided hike teaches how conservationists saved these birds from extinction using captive breeding. Wear hiking boots—paths get slippery near the valley’s stream after rains. End your visit at the reserve’s café, which makes thick mango chutney sandwiches on whole-grain bread.
Take a Boat to Île aux Aigrettes
Île aux Aigrettes, a 26-hectare island reserve, sits two kilometers offshore. Book a guided tour to see Aldabra tortoises lumbering through scrubland or rare orchids clinging to limestone rocks. The island has no shade or shops, so wear a hat and bring water. Tours depart from Pointe Jérome at 9:30 AM and 1:30 PM daily. Stay on marked paths to avoid disturbing skink nests in the leaf litter.
Explore Vieux Grand Port
Vieux Grand Port, eight kilometers east, holds Mauritius’ oldest surviving structures. The Frederik Hendrik Museum displays Dutch clay pipes and stone foundations from a 1638 fort. Walk to Pointe Canon to touch cannons abandoned after the 1810 battle and see Mouchoir Rouge islet offshore. Drive inland 10 minutes to La Nef Museum, a seashell-covered cottage where poet Robert Edward Hart wrote about island life.
Swim at Pointe d’Esny Beach
Pointe d’Esny’s beach has soft sand and water clear enough to see starfish on the seabed. Enter via a public path marked by a peeling blue sign between two villas. Swim near the northern end where the lagoon stays shallow—avoid the southern tip where currents pull toward open ocean. Bring your own umbrella and snacks, as there are no rental shops. Local homeowners sometimes rent kayaks for 500 rupees per hour.
Watch the Mahébourg Regatta
Every January or February, Mahébourg hosts a regatta with races between wooden fishing boats painted in neon greens and yellows. Crews from villages like Grand Sable and Quatre Cocos compete in sprints and tug-of-war matches off the waterfront. Try grilled marlin skewers or coconut fudge from stalls near the bandstand. Fireworks start at 8 PM on the final night, synchronized to sega music played over loudspeakers.
Join a Fishing Tour
Local fishers offer half-day trips to learn traditional techniques like net casting or octopus trapping. You’ll wade into the lagoon at low tide to check bamboo fish traps for red snapper or trevally. Tours include a lunch of grilled catch with chili paste and steamed rice. Book through your guesthouse or at the small tourism office near the waterfront’s clocktower.
Drive to Rochester Falls
Rochester Falls, 40 minutes southwest near Souillac, crashes over hexagonal basalt columns. Watch teenagers jump off 8-meter ledges into the plunge pool below. Come before 10 AM to have the viewing platform to yourself. Walk through adjacent sugarcane fields—look for stone walls built by indentured laborers in the 1850s. On your way back, stop at Gris Gris cliffs to watch waves explode against black volcanic rocks.
