In 1804, the Pord Sud-Est became the ‘Bourg of Mahé’, capital at the time of the south of the island. The streets in straight lines, the houses with a creole architecture still testify of the colonial past of this village, the same area with an open door on the largest lagoon of the island. The remains of the Dutch, French and British occupation staked the area, the marine remains which gave birth to Mauritius’ biggest crop: sugar cane.
 

Mahébourg is known for his naval museum, dedicated to the maritime history of the area and the famous naval battles which opposed the French to the British. It also shelters the Rault biscuit factory, specialised in the manioc biscuit starchy crop brought back from Brazil and naturalised thanks to Mahé de La Bourdonnais.
 

The picturesque is still the street-side gable. It is an invitation to the Mauritian reality: the houses who travelled time, the small shops where you can find everything and anything, the street food of which the famous ‘chanapouri’ of Mahébourg (fried Indian fritter), the market with vegetables, the stalls just like a rainbow, clothes begging to be taken home, the artisanal objects, the musical instruments, the sea front swept away by the trade winds. 
 

Take a walk through Mahébourg, it is a gigantic leap in the real Mauritius.