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| The stately front entrance |
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| A very ornate chandelier in the living room |
Back in Mauritius after a week in Seychelles, there is a favorite Sunday Open House we like to visit . . . it is the stately Chateau Labourdonnais just a few kilometers from our house. Development on the grounds began 200 years ago, and the mansion has existed in some form or another for over 150 years. This was the home of Mauritius sugar barons who built and furnished an elegant estate. The chateau and grounds have been restored to their original elegance, and visitors are allowed to visit on accompanied tours. The chateau is named after the famed sea captain Bertrand Francois Mahe de Labourdonnais who was 38 and full of ambition when he sailed into Port Louis harbor in 1735 as the new Governor of Mauritius, appointed by the French East India Company. He never saw the chateau, as it was built nearly 100 years after he died. Between 1735 and 1753, Labourdonnais spent his term as Governor working to build the sugar cane industry, and improving the lot of the "colony of malcontents" he found there. The thatched hovels of the slaves and Indians were demolished and in their place rose forts, barracks, warehouses, hospitals and houses, many of which survive in the capital, Port Louis. He was an enlightened leader of the Mauritius colony.
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| The study and library |
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| Dining room |
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| Master bedroom |
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