City of Saint-Louis

Saint Louis

On the Makes route

The city of Saint-Louis is located in the south-west of Réunion between Étang-Salé and Saint Pierre. Its territory of 98.9 km2 extends from the coast to the border Cilaos where more than 54,000 inhabitants live.

Presentation of the city of Saint-Louis

The accessibility of the west coast of the island made Saint-Louis one of the first towns populated by settlers in 1646. At the beginning of the 18th century, the president of commerce Desforges Boucher, anxious to develop the economy on this territory, offers land to farmers wishing to grow Moka coffee. Then in the 19th century, the coffee plantations were replaced by those of sugar cane and in 1815, Saint-Louis became a commune.

The city center of Saint-Louis is lively and very commercial. Its neighborhoods extend inland to the west and north:

the Gol to the west, with a green landscape made up mostly of houses and its pond welcoming Sunday picnickers;
the Saint-Louis River to the north, with a well-urbanized part and another with unspoiled nature;
les Makes, a district in a rural and forest environment with its window offering a magnificent view of the Cilaos cirque.

saint-louis-reunion-card

What to do in the city of Saint-Louis?

Visit the Saint-Louis Church, the largest inReunion Island with an area of 1000 m2 and 25 meters in height. A superb mix of columns, capitals and arches in basalt. Observe the house of Doctor Edwards, a remarkable place in Réunion classified as a historical monument since 1990. As you pass, you can admire the Saint-Louis mosque and take a tour of the Gol sugar factory.

Every summer, the city of Saint-Louis organizes free outdoor concerts with the Conc'Air festival. The exhibitors of the fairground market are present every Wednesday morning with their fruits and vegetables and local products. The bargain hunters will be delighted to go to the flea market in the town every 3rd Sunday of the month.