Chateau de Labourdonnais

The Chateau de Labourdonnais was completed in 1859 on a sugar estate in the north, a two-storey neoclassical house in teak with a colonnaded veranda, and it underwent a thorough restoration finished in 2010 that returned the interiors to their nineteenth-century arrangement with original and period furniture. The estate around it has been replanted as an orchard of tropical fruit, several hundred varieties including mango, litchi and citrus, and the produce goes into jams, juices and a small rum distillery on site where cane spirit is aged and flavoured with estate fruit. Tastings are part of the standard visit. Giant tortoises are kept in the grounds and a restaurant serves estate produce.

What you actually see

• The teak mansion - the restored 1859 house and its veranda.
• Period interiors - the furnished rooms as arranged in the estate era.
• The fruit orchard - hundreds of tropical varieties on the grounds.
• The distillery - the rum production and tasting room.

When to go

May to December for comfortable weather. Fruit is at its best in the southern summer, from December to March, which is also hotter. The site opens daily and mornings are quieter.

Honest expectations

The visit is heavily oriented toward the shop, tastings and restaurant. Interpretation says little about the estate's labour history. Grounds are extensive and involve walking in the sun. Tasting sessions are charged separately.

Nearby

Pamplemousses garden lies south; Grand Baie is north.