Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights
Eureka
OFFLINE MAP
HISTORIC BUILDING
( 433 8477;
www.maisoneureka.com
;
admission house Rs 200, house & waterfall Rs 300; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat,
9am-3pm Sun)
If you're only going to visit one attraction related to Mauritius' rich colonial
history, choose Eureka. This perfectly preserved Creole mansion was built in the 1830s
and today it's a museum and veritable time machine providing incredible insight into the
island's vibrant plantation past. The estate's unusual name is believed to have been the re-
action of Eugène Le Clézio when he successfully won a bid to purchase the house at auc-
tion in 1856.
The main manor house is a masterpiece of tropical construction, which apparently kept
the interior deliciously cool during the unbearably hot summers, and boasts 109 doors and
more rooms than a Cluedo board. Rooms are adorned with an impeccably preserved col-
lection of period furniture imported by the French East India Company - take special note
of the antique maps, a strange shower contraption that was quite the luxury some 150
years ago and the mildewed piano with keys like rotting teeth.
The courtyard behind the main mansion contains beautifully manicured grounds sur-
rounded by a set of stone cottages - the former servants quarters and kitchen. Follow the
trail out the back for 15 minutes and you'll reach the lovely
Ravin waterfall
.
Sleeping & Eating
Eureka Maison d'Hôte
OFFLINE MAP
( 433 8477;
www.maisoneureka.com
;
r incl breakfast Rs 3500)
If you wish to spend the night on a
plantation, there are a handful of authentic cottages on the property that have been conver-
ted into lovely bedrooms with en suite facilities and kitchenettes. Both rooms at this so-
called
maison d'hôte
have period furnishings from the French East India Company. The St
George cabin, the smaller of the two units, was once the cell for the estate's priest.
HISTORIC GUESTHOUSE
€€
Eureka Table d'Hôte
OFFLINE MAP
MAURITIAN
€€
