Mauritius - Shopping

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Like many reputable holiday companies we are ABTA registered, our ABTA membership number is 65310.

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SHOPPING

Shops in Port Louis are typically open 09.30–17.00 Monday–Friday and 09.00–12.00 Saturday. A few open on Sunday morning.

The market between Queen and Farquhar streets is open 06.00–18.00 Monday–Saturday and 06.00–12.00 Sunday. There is a fantastically colourful fruit and vegetable market, which contains two intriguing tisane (herbal remedy) stalls. Both have been there for generations and claim to offer a cure for every imaginable ailment, from rheumatism to cellulite, with their unassuming bundles of twigs and leaves. Their cures have become so well known that they now take orders from overseas via email. On the opposite side of Farquhar Street is the meat and fish market.

Above the fruit and vegetable market, on the first floor, is the place for souvenirs, although you may have to look hard to find items made in Mauritius. The colourful bags, wooden objects and spices are largely imported from Madagascar or Africa. Pickpockets are said to operate around the market and, although the atmosphere isn’t threatening, the tenacious sales techniques can be rather tiresome. You are expected to barter.

The Caudan Waterfront (% 211 6560) contains a vast range of shops: jewellery, fashion, carpets, crafts and souvenirs, some of which are duty free. Opening hours are 09.30–17.30 Monday–Saturday, 09.30–12.30 Sunday, and there is an information kiosk in the Barkly Wharf building. It’s relatively hassle-free shopping with no real hard sell, although prices may be a little elevated. On the ground floor of Barkly Wharf, Bookcourt (% 211 9146) is a well-stocked bookshop which has English-language titles on the Mascarene Islands, including this one. There is a craft market within the Caudan Waterfront, not far from the casino, where you can see artisans at work. The Mauritius Glass Gallery has an outlet here (% 210 1181). Spices, sugar products, tea, art and locally produced essential oils are also on sale.

The Small Enterprise To Help Development For All (SEHDA) has a shop in the Astrolabe Centre and in the Caudan Waterfront craft market, where you can be sure of buying locally made products (see also Travelling positively, pages 83–4).

On weekend evenings there is an open-air market at the Caudan Waterfront, called Le Souk.

Air Mauritius has its own building, Air Mauritius Centre, in President John F Kennedy Street. The smart arcade of shops on the ground floor is known as Paille en Queue shopping centre. Reservations and reconfirmations for Air Mauritius flights can be made in the ground-floor ticket office.

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