Port Louis Sights

  1. Blue Penny Museum

    Whether or not you fully understand the philatelic obsession with the Mauritian one penny and two-pence stamps of 1847, the Blue Penny Museum is far more wide ranging than its name suggests, taking in the history of the island's exploration, settlement and colonial period. It's Port Louis' best museum, well lit and designed with a fantastic selection of maps, photographs and engravings from different periods in history, as well as a gallery for temporary exhibitions and a good shop.

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  2. Mauritius Postal Museum

    The rather lacklustre two-room Mauritius Postal Museum beside the central post office houses a mishmash of commemorative stamps and other postal paraphernalia from around the world. These include copies of the famous 'Post Office' stamps of 1847, though you can now see the originals in the Blue Penny Museum. There's also a decent display of 19th-century and early-20th-century communication devices. The museum shop sells replica first-day covers of the famous stamps, which make unusual souvenirs.

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  3. Natural History Museum

    There's only one real attraction at the small but proud Natural History Museum and that's to see the famous - though somewhat grubby - reconstruction of a dodo. Scottish scientists assembled the curious-looking bird in the late 19th century, using the only complete dodo skeleton in existence. The rest of the museum's three halls get marks for trying, but the majority of the other exhibits are a sad testimony to the fact that fish don't readily lend themselves to the process of taxidermy.

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  4. Photography Museum

    The small but engaging Photography Museum , down a lane opposite the Municipal Theatre, is the labour of love of local photographer Tristan Bréville. He's amassed a treasure trove of old cameras and prints, including several daguerreotypes (the forerunner of photographs) produced in Mauritius in 1840, just a few months after the technique was discovered in France. The museum also contains a vast archive of historical photos of the island, only a tiny fraction of which are on display.

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  5. SSR Memorial Centre for Culture

    This simple house museum near the Jardin Plaine Verte was the home to Mauritius' father of independence, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, from 1935 until 1968. It's an interesting exhibit on his life, with some fascinating photographs, a collection of his personal belongings and even films about the great man, beloved by all Mauritians.

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