Port Mathurin combines practical orientation with insights into the culture of Rodrigues.
Culture and Getting Around the Centre
In the centre, the Rodrigues Tourism Office is housed in a renovated old wooden house in the Creole style. Its permanent exhibition showcases important Rodrigues handicrafts and culinary specialities. Educational panels illustrate the island’s history through several key stages. The Tourism Office therefore brings together both an architectural feature—the renovated wooden house in the Creole style—and information about handicrafts, cuisine, and the island’s history.
The office also provides bus and tide timetables, as well as schedules for major events. These details address different planning needs: bus timetables help you plan when travelling, while tide and event schedules relate to other time windows. If one of these factors affects your day’s plans, check the relevant information in advance.
The Market and Local Landmarks
The Port Mathurin market is busiest on Saturdays. This makes the day of the week a useful point of reference if you want to include the market in your plans. Ben Gontran House is located on Barclay Street. These details serve different purposes: the market marks a weekly rhythm, while Barclay Street provides a specific location.
Near the destination is Marie Queen of Rodrigues, a statue of the Virgin Mary on the heights of Pointe Canon. It is a Catholic gathering place as well as a tourist and historical site. Its religious significance adds a different perspective to the cultural themes presented at the Tourism Office.
Rodrigues in a Broader Context
The Tourism Office and the market are in Port Mathurin; the François Leguat Reserve, Mont Limon, the marine reserves, and Sega Tambour belong to the broader Rodrigues context, not to Port Mathurin’s local features.
Across the wider destination of Rodrigues, the island is 18 km long and 8 km wide. In the southwest of Rodrigues lies the François Leguat Reserve, in a limestone landscape with nine caves and sinkholes. The François Leguat Reserve on Rodrigues offers guided tours through a valley with hundreds of giant tortoises, tropical birds, and tens of thousands of native trees. The four galleries of the museum at the François Leguat Reserve on Rodrigues offer insights into the natural history of Rodrigues. Grande Caverne at the François Leguat Reserve on Rodrigues features impressive limestone formations.
In the broader Rodrigues context, Mont Limon offers views of Rodrigues’ geological relief, agricultural terraces, and the ocean; by contrast, the François Leguat Reserve on Rodrigues is characterised by its valley, museum, and limestone formations. The wider Rodrigues region also has ten marine reserves. In the broader Rodrigues context, Sega Tambour is a traditional dance of Rodrigues; in 2017, it was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list. The cultural themes range from handicrafts and culinary specialities at the Tourism Office to the traditional Sega Tambour of Rodrigues.
For the broader travel overview: Port Mathurin.
