I’ve just written a feature for the magazine (March issue) with 10 reasons to go to the awesome Indian Ocean island of Réunion but there was so much to say I couldn’t fit it all in! In my feature I focused on the adventurous side of the island (canyoning, mountain biking, hiking, paragliding…) but there are more unexpected reasons why you should visit the French island.
1. Architecture in St Denis
You can’t go to Réunion and not spend some time in its buzzing capital, St-Denis. The best way to explore this city is on a guided tour. I spent four hours walking around with an English-speaking guide who told me about the city and the island’s fascinating history and culture, and took me around St-Denis’s architectural treasures. Balades Péi Culturelles offers a number of guided tours which cost from €9. Contact: Tel +692-86-32-88, email [email protected], www.guid-a-nou.com. Ask for Maëlla Dehors, an excellent guide who speaks fluent English.
2. Dead people
It may sound odd as an attraction, but Réunion’s cemeteries are definitely worth a visit – they’re some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. Shaded by tropical trees such as frangipane, graves are covered with a bright rainbow of colourful flowers and plants. There are also celebrity graves to visit. An African sorcerer, La Sitane, was laid to rest in the cemetery in St-Pierre. There are always offerings at his grave left by practisers of gris gris (black magic). Check out a real pirate’s grave (marked with skull and crossbones, nogal) at Cimetière Marin in St-Paul. Here lies the earthly remains of Olivier “˜La Buse’ Levasseur, a notorious Indian Ocean pirate who was captured and hanged in St-Paul in 1730.
3. Cool festivals
Réunion has some interesting festivals that take place throughout the year. In January there’s a wine harvest festival in Cilaos; the Tamil new year is celebrated in April; a festival of Creole music in St-Leu in August; a 10-day street fair to mark the Festival of Notre Dame De Salette in St-Leu in September; and Creole Week in October. Any place that has a festival dedicated to lentils (I’m a vegetarian) is cool by me.
4. Multicultural mélange
Réunion is one of the most successfully multicultural places I’ve ever been to. Yes, South Africa is multicultural but there’s a lot of segregation between cultures, misunderstandings, ignorance and racial tension. In Réunion, everyone just seems to get along. I thought maybe that was just my naive tourist’s view at first, but after speaking to islanders about it, they confirmed my observation. Apparently the South African government is trying to learn from Réunion’s brilliant example of comfortable multiculturalism.
5. Incredibly Strong Rum
My colleague Alison Westwood, warned me about Reunion’s Incredibly Strong Rum. “˜How strong can it be?’ I wondered, as I walked down to the hotel bar. The answer is: very very strong. After one small rum punch at the bar I was practically comatose in my chair. Apart from being strong, the rum is actually rather delicious, especially rum arrange (infused rum). My favourites were ginger and lemon, and coffee and vanilla. Visit La Saga du Rhum on Chemin Fredeline in Saint-Pierre Cedex, a museum entirely dedicated to rum, which also has the smallest distillery on the island.
Saint-Pierre Cedex, tel +692-62-35-81-90, sagadurhum@sagadurhum. Entry is €7 an adult.
Tip: There’s a nice selection of rum at the airport, so use up the last of your Euros to buy bottles as presents.
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