Markets in Mauritius

The island's main market, on two levels off Farquhar Street, and sorted by floor: fruit, vegetables and spices below, textiles, baskets and souvenirs above, and a food aisle where the queues are. Alouda, a milk drink thickened with basil seed, and dholl puri, the split pea flatbread that is Mauritius in one item, are both worth ordering here. It runs Monday to Saturday from very early until late afternoon, and Sunday mornings only. Go before ten for produce rather than crowds.

The clothing and fabric market, held on open ground in the middle of Quatre Bornes in Plaines Wilhems, and the place Mauritians go for cheap textiles rather than souvenirs. Rolls of fabric, shirts, shoes and household goods laid out on trestles, with stallholders who expect you to bargain. The big days are usually Thursday and Sunday, when it takes over Saint Jean Road. There is a produce section too, but the fabric is what people come for.

The largest open-air market on the island, at Centre de Flacq on the east coast, and the one that still feels like a market rather than a shopping trip. Vegetables, fruit, spices, dried fish, cheap kitchenware and plants, spread across open ground rather than a hall. The big days are usually Wednesday and Sunday, when the stalls run well past the official ground. It is about an hour from Port Louis and much easier with a car.

A covered craft market inside the Caudan Waterfront complex in Port Louis, which makes it the tidy, sheltered counterpart to the Central Market a few minutes away. Model ships, basketwork, vanilla, rum, sarongs and printed cloth, with fixed prices on most stalls and no haggling expected. It is the sensible place to buy presents if you have one afternoon and no appetite for bargaining. Open daily, and busiest when a cruise ship is in.

The tourist market of the north, a few minutes back from the Grand Baie waterfront and priced accordingly. Sarongs, shirts, carved wood, shells, spices and rum are what most stalls carry, and much of it is the same stock at different prices from stall to stall, so walk the whole thing before you buy. Bargaining is expected and opening prices are high. Open daily, and worth an hour if you are staying in the north.

Curepipe sits high on the central plateau and takes more rain than anywhere else on the island, which is why its market is a covered building rather than an open ground. It is a working town market: vegetables, fish, clothes and household goods for the people who live there, with almost nothing aimed at visitors. The town's own draw is its model ship workshops and the Trou aux Cerfs crater above it. Together the three make a half day.

Triolet is the longest village in Mauritius, strung along a single road in the north, and its market runs beside that road. Produce, fish and everyday goods, with the Tamil and Hindu character of the village showing in what the spice stalls carry. The Maheswarnath Mandir, one of the island's most important Hindu temples, is a short walk away, and most visitors come for that and find the market by accident. Mornings only, in practice.

Rose Hill is part of Beau Bassin-Rose Hill, the island's second largest urban area after Port Louis, and its market sits among colonial era shopping arcades rather than in a hall of its own. Fabric, clothes, produce and street food, with the arcades around it selling everything from books to hardware. It is on the Metro Express line from Port Louis, which makes it the easiest market to reach without a car. Mornings are the productive part.

A neighbourhood market in the Cite Martial quarter of Port Louis, north of the centre, and not a place set up for visitors. Vegetables, fish, meat and cheap clothing sold to people who live within walking distance, which is exactly why it is worth seeing if you want a market with no souvenir stall in it. Prices are what residents pay. It is a short ride from the Central Market and works best as a morning stop.

The village market at Pamplemousses in the north, and the reason to know about it is what sits next door: the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden, with its giant water lilies and talipot palms. The market itself is small, mostly produce and household goods for the village. Pairing the two is the standard half day out of Port Louis, and the market is the half that tells you what people here actually eat.

Mahebourg's market trades through the week by the waterfront in the southeast, but Monday is the day it becomes an event, when the stalls spill off the ground and along the streets. Produce, fabric, cheap clothing and a strong food section, with gateaux piments and farata cooked in front of you. The naval museum and the boats for Ile aux Aigrettes are both close by. Come on a Monday morning or accept a much smaller market.

Goodlands, in the far north, splits its week: clothing, shoes and fabric on Tuesdays and Fridays, fruit and vegetables on Wednesdays and Saturdays, which is worth knowing before you drive out. It is a local market with very little tourist trade and the prices reflect that. It is one of the bigger markets in the north of the island. Check the day before going, because the split can shift and an empty ground is a long drive for nothing.