City of Saint-Paul

St.Paul

An essential visit to Reunion

Located in the north-west of Reunion, St.Paul is the second city with the largest number of inhabitants. It has almost 105,000 Saint-Paulois and Saint-Pauloises spread over 241.3 km2 whose postal code is 97460.

Presentation of Saint-Paul

Historically, Saint-Paul is the first municipality ofReunion Island which saw the settlers land in 1642. And for good reason, thanks to its accessibility, it is considered “the bay of the best anchorage”. Until 1738, it held the role of capital of Bourbon Island and prospered thanks to the cultivation of coffee, cotton and sugar cane.

Although dethroned by St Denis to represent the intense island, Saint-Paul will know how to develop its tourist side to remain among the most attractive cities.

The city center of Saint-Paul stretches over part of the west coast and the town enjoys beaches and very attractive neighborhoods in Réunion:

Boucan Canot with its famous beach, hotels and restaurants and houses;
The seaside resort of Saint-Gilles-les-Bains, a particularly lively shopping and tourist area with, among other things, its marina, beaches, an aquarium and an open-air theater;
La Saline-les-Bains and its slightly less urban environment, but enjoying a magnificent beach and a good number of accommodation.

city-map-saint-paul

What to do in the city of Saint-Paul?

Classified as a historical monument, the Church of the Conversion has been restored several times and in particular its steeple in 2019. You can admire a statue of the Virgin Mary made by the Ducel forges, the only other copy of which is in Brazil.

To take in the sights, go to the Saint-Paul landing stage, which offers a breathtaking panorama of Saint-Paul bay.

Stroll through the aisles of one of Reunion's most beautiful markets. More than 300 traders await you at fairground market on the Saint-Paul seafront on Fridays all day and Saturday morning.

Take a walk around the Saint-Paul pond and its coconut grove, then go to the Savana shopping area and take the rock tower path towards the water mill if you want to cool off.

To finish, visit the marine cemetery where the famous pirate Olivier Levasseur known as "the Buse" rests as well as the “cave of the first French” with its picnic style very popular with Saint-Paulois.

Taste the inverted bowl recipe with chicken, vegetables, mushrooms and egg, and more traditional dishes from Réunion in the bar trucks on the seafront or in the restaurants of the town of Saint-Paul, the recipes of which you will find in the book below.

Find all the recipes of Réunion in this book