Port Louis in a few hours: harbour and market

Port Louis lives in a continuous contrast: the commercial port steps away from the Stock Exchange, a colonial fort on the hill, a Chinese neighbourhood and a market where Mauritius' multi-ethnic heritage still breathes.

24 hours is enough to cross it at leisure, keeping in mind that humid heat suggests starting early.

The Caudan Waterfront, the revitalized waterfront with shops and restaurants, is the most convenient starting point: from here, almost all other day stops are reachable on foot.

The Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO World Heritage site, marks the place where starting from 1849 hundreds of thousands of contract laborers from India and China disembarked: a small museum recounts this foundational page of modern Mauritian society.

The Central Market, loud and colorful, sells spices, tropical fruit, and souvenirs on two floors: the upper floor, less known to tourists, is where Mauritians actually go to shop.

From Fort Adelaide, the citadel built by the English on the hill overlooking the center, the entire port can be seen, and on the clearest days, also part of the coast outside the city.

Port Louis has no grand postcard pretensions, and perhaps that's why the Central Market remains more alive than many historic squares elsewhere: here the city works, not poses for photos.

The upper floor, where mostly Mauritians shop, tells this side of the city better than any view from the fort.