If you are considering Pointe Aux Piments as a place to stay, two interests can guide your decision: the designated public beach and several heritage features associated with the area. The Mauritius Aquarium belongs to a different period: for a long time, it gave visitors insights into Mauritian marine life, but it is now permanently closed. This makes it possible to distinguish the beach, historical interest, and a former attraction without planning to visit the closed facility as a current destination.

Public Beach and Cultural Heritage

Pointe Aux Piments (Main Beach) is a designated public beach. If being close to a beach is a particular priority when choosing where to stay, you can take this status into account as a concrete point of consideration.

Associated with Pointe Aux Piments are the Batterie des Grenadiers, the battery at the Oberoi Hotel, and the powder magazine at the Oberoi Hotel; all three are listed as heritage sites. Their names distinguish two batteries and a powder magazine, rather than describing a single monument. For those who also take cultural heritage into account when choosing a destination, these provide a distinct historical connection alongside the public beach. The names give the area’s profile a specific cultural and historical dimension.

The Mauritius Aquarium: A Former Attraction

The Mauritius Aquarium is located in the village of Pointe aux Piments on the northwest coast. For a long time, it gave visitors insights into Mauritian marine life, but it is now permanently closed. It should therefore be considered a former attraction when planning a trip, not a place to visit. The beach and cultural heritage can shape today’s choice of destination; the aquarium experience belongs to the area’s history.

Culture in the Wider Destination of Pamplemousses

In the wider destination of Pamplemousses is L’Aventure du Sucre, an interactive museum in a former sugar mill. Its subject matter ranges from the history of Mauritius and the country’s close connection with sugarcane to the importance of sugar in the past and present, sugar production and harvesting, the individual processing stages, and the history of the global sugar trade. Agricultural themes, processing, and trade history thus come together in a broad cultural and historical context. Past temporary exhibitions included examples of Mauritian photography, as well as topics such as nutrition and hunger.

Another historical landmark in Pamplemousses is the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. It was built in 1735 in honour of the Governor of Isle de France, François Mahé de Labourdonnais, and the wealthy settlers of the time. Its dedication gives the church a clearly dated historical background and distinguishes it from the museum’s sugarcane history.

The old cemetery is near St Francois D’Assises Church; several graves there are classified as historic monuments. Among them is the grave of Buonavita, Napoleon’s chaplain, which is itself classified as a historic monument. The church building, grave, and monument classification offer different historical points of reference in Pamplemousses: a dated dedication, an identified person, and a designation as a monument.

Discover more destinations: Balaclava, Tombeau Bay, Pamplemousses, Triolet, Trou Aux Biches, D’Epinay, Long Mountain

Go to the wider travel overview: Pamplemousses.