The island of Mauritius has upheld and enhanced its reputation of paradise by the fact that it offers a diversified quantity and quality of shopping possibilities.

The Central Market
A visit in Mauritius remains incomplete if one does not visit the Central Market in Port Louis. This humming market best projects the picture of the kaleidoscopic Mauritian nation. It is the busiest place in the capital and visiting the market place is an adventure in itself, a bustling bazaar which offers a wide range of products from spices to T-shirts, post cards to pareos, local craft to jewellery. It is also Ali Baba's cave for souvenir hunters.

Fabrics
It certainly takes more than one day to visit all the arcades, shops and shopping centres of Port Louis. 

At La Corderie street, you will for sure find a wide range of fabrics, be it the best quality cotton imported from Malaysia or soft and eye-catching silks imported from the Far-East. As textile is duty-free in Mauritius, the prices defy any competition.

Jewellery
In the duty-free shops, the prices of jewellery and precious stones are really low. A series of shops are proposed later in your guide.

Children garments
Garments for children and babies are found at very low prices in Mauritius. High quality here matches low prices. Trousers, jeans, sport blasers, shirts, T-shirts and wool products are available easily at irresistible prices. For your own pleasure, you should visit the Phoenix and Floreal shops or the commercial fairs in the towns or in large villages like Centre de Flacq, Rivière du Rempart or Goodlands.

Handicrafts
Straw hats, macramé, printed cards with dry flowers, embroidery, tapestry, handmade baskets represent only a sample of the Mauritius handicraft which can be found practically everywhere. 

Addresses to be remembered are the Caudan and Port Louis waterfronts, the Central Market, the Citadel and the Commercial fairs of Centre de Flacq and other fairs across the island. It is also advisable to visit small shops for good bargains.

Duty-free shops
Mauritius is highly prized by foreign visitors as a shopping paradise. Duty-free shops open to tourists holding a passport and an air ticket practise the lowest prices possible.

What then can you bring back from Mauritius?

Ship models, reproduced exactly from original plans are cherished souvenirs. The best models can be found at Historic Marine, Cenneau House, Bauwens or Comajora, where you can watch the craftsmen at work. For those who prefer jewellery, it must be known that jewellery has inherited a long tradition in Mauritius, exceptionally as Mauritians of Indian origin are skilled manufacturers and excellent copiers, working with 18 or 22 carat gold. The quality/price ratio can be most surprising. Top names of Mauritian jewellery are Poncini, Caunhye (Bijouterie Bienvenue), Adamas for diamonds, Bijouchic, Geegabhai, Matikola, Charles Lee, Mikado, Wahed Essa and Gold Finger. Most of them also sell watches of international renown. Jewellers manufacture on demand and deliver their products in hotels.

Textile
Even if there are thousands of shops, hawkers still haunt the beaches. Sometimes, deals are possible but beware of crooks. For pull-overs and knitting products, some addresses are Floréal Knitwear, Bonair (Rue Maille), Shibani and Tara. Many designer labels have their production units in Mauritius. Shirts, shorts, trousers, suits for men and women or swimming suits are half or onethird its price in Europe. It is also possible to have tailor-made suits within 18 hours.

There are big shopping centres in Grand Bay, Curepipe, Quatre Bornes, Rose Hill, Port Louis, at the airport and in most of the hotels. It is easy to buy a beautiful painting in an art gallery just as it is easy to discover antiques in specialised shops like Macumba, Lacaze, Going Bananas or Interieurs. Morever, interesting chinaware can be found in the Port Louis Chinese town.

Shells, silk, textile and duty-free perfumes are particularly interesting because of the highly attractive exchange rate of foreign currency. There is also handicraft, basket work (vacoas, raphia, aloe, rattan, bamboo, banana tree fibre, coconut tree leaves and straw), embroidery, earthenware, silk, screened fabric and cut stones. Fine cuisine fans will be able to take away a colourful range of various chillies, candied fruits and other spices or achards, those special vegetable pickles macerated in safron oil and chilli.

Curepipe
Curepipe is a major residential town but many interesting shopping centres can be found there. While visiting the town, it is a must to stop at Beauté de Chine in the Currimjee Arcades where duty-free gold jewellery, handicraft and gift items can be found in plenty.

Quatre Bornes
The main attraction of Quatre Bornes is its commercial fair which is held twice a week Wednesday and Saturday. Apart from small shops of all types, restaurants, bars and cinema halls are found there, but the centre piece is the modern Orchard Shopping Centre.