The day begins in Port Louis with a private guide: the Central Market and its spices, the Jummah Mosque on Royal Street, the UNESCO-listed Aapravasi Ghat and the dodo gallery of the Natural History Museum, then lunch on Le Caudan Waterfront.

In the afternoon you head north to the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden at Pamplemousses, laid out by Pierre Poivre in 1770 over some 37 hectares. It is the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere, known for its long pond of giant water lilies and 85 kinds of palm.