Réunion's south coast capital — the lively Creole market town at the foot of the Cirques with the island's best Saturday market
Saint-Pierre is Réunion's second city and the principal town of the island's south, with a character distinctly more Creole and relaxed than the northern capital Saint-Denis. The Saturday Créole market on the waterfront — a blaze of colour from vanilla pods, turmeric, cari épices spice mixes, and the lychees and pineapples of the island's interior orchards — is one of the most lively market experiences in the Indian Ocean. Saint-Pierre is the most convenient base for accessing the Cirque de Cilaos and Piton de la Fournaise (one of the world's most active volcanoes), both within 90 minutes' dr…
Saint-Pierre was founded as a settlement by the French East India Company in 1735 and for much of the colonial period was as important as Saint-Denis — it was the centre of the island's sugar industry, the principal southern port, and the seat of a rival political faction to the northern capital. The construction of the south coast road and later the development of Saint-Denis as the unambiguous administrative capital reduced Saint-Pierre to the second city. Réunion's economy underwent massive transformation when sugar prices collapsed in the late 20th century; the island transitioned to a Fr…