L'Aventure du Sucre — Attraction in Isle Mauritius

There are a couple of reasons why we absolutely loved our visit to L'Aventure du Sucre. The history: Despite its name, L'Aventure du Sucre is not just about sugar. It tells the story of Mauritius; its people; and the struggles, losses and victories that shaped the country. As we walk down the corridors reading the display boards, and listening to the audio clippings in the mobile app, we understood that this is because the history of sugarcane is inextricably tied to the history of the nation, and vice versa. Certain sections of the museum moved us terribly, especially those about the slavery and the indenture system… The quotes and excerpts detailing life during the times were especially powerful. The meticulous research that went into creating this museum is evident. Needless to say, all details of sugar production are also extensively covered here – everything from sugarcane farming (the soils favourable for cultivation, tools used, different cultivars, etc.) to the process of extracting sugar from the cane (history of machines, and industrial processes included), types of sugar, and even, how sugar used to be stored, exported and showcased in affluent homes during its glory days! The museum also has a small section about rum – another product of the sugarcane industry. The presentation: This museum is built to educate, and it is a fine example on how to make learning easy and fun. With interactive elements, cartoons, videos and life-size models displayed at every turn, it is a treat for anyone who is even remotely interested in teaching, learning or research. The people: The museum is built to give a deeply personal experience without the need for a guide or any other intermediary. But with its sugar and rum tasting rooms and souvenir shop, the “Village Boutique” (that we walk into right after the museum) offer just the opposite! It is a hive of vibrant and cheerful folk who obviously love their jobs. We loved sampling the mellow and delicious rums (made from molasses, in contrast to the sharper-tasting rums made from sugarcane juice elsewhere in Mauritius), especially the caramel and coffee flavoured ones, the 11 types of sugar and the rich collection of locally-produced jams and honeys. (We could not resist hoarding them for our journey back home!) But what we will treasure forever in our hearts was the interaction with the warm and truly lovely people we met there, Mr Neil and Ms Darshnee. On the day we visited first, we did not get enough time in the museum. We had to rush through the last couple of sections at closing time (trust me, if you want to truly get the most out of this museum experience, 2 hours is not enough; you have to set aside an entire day for it). We just happened to mention it, and Mr Neil generously arranged for us to come again two days later to finish our tour! And when we did come back, they were genuinely happy to see us.😊 Seriously, who extends such kindness to total strangers in today’s world? We can’t thank them enough for making our time in Mauritius that much more bright and beautiful… (P.S. We had yet another beautiful human interaction at the restaurant attached to L'Aventure du Sucre! Details in the review of...

Highly instructive tour: make sure to download the app at the cashier's counter before entering the museum. The museum has been crafted from an actual sugar factory complete with its old crushers, boilers, condensers, manufacturing platforms and all heavy equipment still in place: impressive indeed! The displays are full of historical details but some artefacts and multimedia booths are way past their shelf-life and need an overhaul due to damage from wear and tear.

The interactive areas will attract children and the few multimedia items must be upgraded to match today's technology levels.

The walk through the museum is even more interesting when you pay attention to the sugar-coating of the industry's past reliance on slavery and subsidies, and the impact of sugar consumption on human health: it's never their fault!

Besides these, the setting is quite well planned and the numerous artefacts on display give a glimpse of past life and culture during the boom of the sugar industry. Hopefully, this will not be revived again...

Finally, at the end of the tour the tasting area is very entertaining (despite the few acrimonious staff who openly despise locals and prefer dealing with westerners only): adults get to taste alcoholic beverages (not for the faint-hearted!) and children get to taste sugary snacks. One downside is their promotion of Malagasy honey instead of local ones: Rodrigues and Mauritius honeys are way better that imported ones, actually!

In the end, the grassy outdoors are a great place to unwind after 2 hours of walking and will let the children blow...

From the moment we walked in to the moment we walked out, this place was nothing but frustrating.

Our Mauritian friend called ahead and booked us 2 places for a tour that afternoon, confirming the tour would be in English. Once we arrived, only 2 hours later, we were curtly told (and with not a single apology) that there was no tour in English, it had been cancelled. There was a tour in French running at the same time. But we are welcome to do the self guided tour at 575RP each. The self guided tour required you to download an app on your phone and use headphones. The app didn't exist on my partner's iPhone but it did on my Google phone. But of course we didn't bring our own headphones as we had booked for a guided tour, the museum did not supply headphones (which many other places do that have self guided tours, it's a no brainer).

We began our self guided tour with the volume turned up so we could hear it. We got 3 stops in until the French guided tour caught up to us and the tour guide paid absolutely no attention to us trying to hear our phone, they spoke over the top to their group and we could no longer hear anything. So we walked out and got a refund, explaining what had happened. We received our money back with one curt apology as we said goodbye.

From the brief look we had inside the museum, I would not recommend spending your money on this 'attraction', it was subpar and now knowing the lack of service and hospitality, they don't deserve the the funds...