MSC Cruises East Africa: 14 nights from Durban with MSC Opera
Dec 27, 2025

Nosy Be

Mamoudzou

Port Louis

Located beneath towering mountain peaks, Port Louis makes an impression seen from the plateau with its frenetic center on the ocean in a frieze that seems to defy perspective. A wonderful experience. Despite being the national capital, the main economic center and the country's largest city, Port Louis occupies a rather strange place in the psyche of local people. The wealthier classes have traditionally lived outside the city, especially in the towns of Rose Hill, Quatre Bornes, Moka and Vacoas. This trend still continues nowadays, and Port Louis (the final s is usually silent) can sometimes seem like a city with no middle class, no centre and a ghost town after dark. This impression is totally false, however - Port Louis has a lot to offer, those who only visit the fantastic Caudan Waterfront will get a very bland impression of the national capital. The hustle and bustle of the streets, the city's famous market, Chinatown, collection of museums and wonderfully preserved colonial buildings make Port Louis much more than a place to shop away from the beach.

Port Louis

Located beneath towering mountain peaks, Port Louis makes an impression seen from the plateau with its frenetic center on the ocean in a frieze that seems to defy perspective. A wonderful experience. Despite being the national capital, the main economic center and the country's largest city, Port Louis occupies a rather strange place in the psyche of local people. The wealthier classes have traditionally lived outside the city, especially in the towns of Rose Hill, Quatre Bornes, Moka and Vacoas. This trend still continues nowadays, and Port Louis (the final s is usually silent) can sometimes seem like a city with no middle class, no centre and a ghost town after dark. This impression is totally false, however - Port Louis has a lot to offer, those who only visit the fantastic Caudan Waterfront will get a very bland impression of the national capital. The hustle and bustle of the streets, the city's famous market, Chinatown, collection of museums and wonderfully preserved colonial buildings make Port Louis much more than a place to shop away from the beach.

La Possession

Durban

Stretching along a strip of yellow-blue sand, Durban is the third most populous city in South Africa. The waterfront, with its expanse of hotels, skyscrapers and bars, remains a symbol of the city, and the city center, with some grand colonial buildings and charming Art Deco architecture, perfectly represent the typical African style. The city is famous for being a place with the largest concentration of people of Indian descent in the country.

For this reason, Durban also boasts sights, sounds and smells typical of the subcontinent. Even though the beach is always the favorite spot, many visitors visit the suburbs, chock-full of housing, shopping malls, funky bars and elegant restaurants and they describe these areas as beautiful and not to be missed.