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The old Beau Plan sugar factory near Pamplemousses, turned into the museum that explains Mauritius through the crop that built it — machinery, slavery and indenture, rum, and a tasting of unrefined sugars at the end.
Beau Plan milled cane for 177 years before closing in 1998. Rather than clear the site, the machinery was left in place and the factory reopened as a museum across roughly 5,000 square metres of the old works. The result is unusual: you walk through the actual production line — crushers, boiling pans, centrifuges — with the scale of the equipment doing much of the explaining, supported by models, film, digital displays and a floating barge.
What makes it more than an industrial museum is that it does not separate the sugar from the society. The trail covers the arrival of cane with the Dutch and French, the enslaved labour that worked the plantations before abolition in 1835, the indentured labourers who replaced them, and the way the crop shaped the island’s population, politics and landscape. It also follows the modern by-products — rum, special sugars, electricity generated from bagasse, fertiliser. The visit finishes with a tasting of unrefined Mauritian sugars, each with a distinct aroma, alongside a selection of local rums. The Village Boutik sells the sugars, jams and arranged rums, and Le Fangourin serves lunch in the garden beside the pond. Guided tours run in English, French and Creole on prior reservation, and there is a cane-cutting experience in the fields for those who book ahead.
Open daily, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Last entry 4:00 PM
Closed 24–26 December and 31 December–2 January
Nothing special — the trail is indoors and self-guided. Book ahead if you want a guided tour, lunch at Le Fangourin or the cane-cutting experience.
Level, largely indoor route through the old factory, with a large secure car park at the entrance. A children’s booklet with games is available at reception for ages 7 to 12.
Next door: one of the oldest botanical gardens in the southern hemisphere, famous for its giant water lilies and talipot palms.
Ten minutes north at Mapou: a restored 19th-century mansion, orchards, a rum distillery and a garden restaurant.
Fifteen minutes south into Port Louis for the harbourfront shops, the craft market and the Blue Penny Museum.
L’Aventure du Sucre,
Beau Plan, Pamplemousses,
Mauritius
~15 min from Port Louis
~25 min from Grand Baie
~50 min from the airport
Leave the M2 motorway at the Pamplemousses roundabout and follow the signs to Beau Plan; there is a large secure car park at the museum entrance. Buses stop at Beau Plan or Mahogany.
A museum inside the former Beau Plan sugar factory near Pamplemousses. The mill worked for 177 years until 1998; the machinery was kept in place and the building reopened as a walk-through museum of sugar and Mauritian history.
Open daily from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM with last entry at 4:00 PM. The museum, boutique and restaurant close from 24 to 26 December and from 31 December to 2 January.
Yes. The trail ends with a tasting of unrefined Mauritian sugars, each with its own aroma, alongside a selection of local rums. The Village Boutik sells the same sugars, jams and arranged rums to take home.
Yes, on prior reservation, in English, French or Creole. A cane-cutting experience in the surrounding fields can also be booked in advance, subject to availability.
Yes — a booklet of games and puzzles is available at reception for ages 7 to 12, and the route is indoors, which makes it a good rainy-day option. Le Fangourin restaurant serves Mauritian dishes in the garden beside the pond.