Audio walk · Saint-Gilles
Saint-Gilles port and seafront
Put your phone in your pocket and walk. Your phone reads each stop aloud, then waits while you walk to the next one; tap “I've arrived” to carry on. Everything it says is written out below, so the walk works without sound too.
- 3 stops
- about 6 min of listening
- about 14 min between stops
- Cluster guide
3 stops · about 6 min listening · about 14 min between stops
Before you start
Voice and speed
The script is in English. On-device voices keep working with no signal once this page is open or saved.
Transcript
Everything the tour says, in order. Read it instead of listening if you prefer.
Before you start
Welcome to the Saint-Gilles port and seafront audio walk in Saint-Gilles. 3 stops: Roches Noires beach, Saint-Gilles port and promenade and Whale watching and boat trips from the port. Evening and morning cluster: the marina, the seafront promenade and the restaurants; flat and hot at midday.
The marina and seafront promenade of Saint-Gilles-les-Bains. Underfoot: paved promenade; slope: flat; shade: medium.
Saint-Gilles-les-Bains is a young resort on an old island. Behind the marina and the hotels sit the first French settlement in the Indian Ocean, a sugar-and-vanilla economy built on slavery and indenture, a reef lagoon that is now a marine reserve and a mountain range that catches every cloud.
Before you start: Do not swim or surf outside the lagoon and supervised zones. Keep your eyes on the street, and pause the audio before you cross a road.
1. Roches Noires beach
Plage des Roches Noires
Look for
- The main sand strip
- The dark rocks and tide pools
- Showers and toilets
- Seafront walk back to the marina
Stop 1 of 3: Roches Noires beach. Locally, Plage des Roches Noires. Arrival point: Seafront road north of the marina.
The town beach beside the marina: come early for a look and a walk, and swim only where the signs say it is allowed that day.
Look for The main sand strip: Sun, sand and a view along the coast. Look for The dark rocks and tide pools: Look for small crabs and fish; keep off the slippery parts. Look for Showers and toilets: Near the seafront. Look for Seafront walk back to the marina: A flat, paved path.
Just south, Roches Noires is the town beach, a strip of sand with dark volcanic rocks next to the marina.
Swim only where the signs and flags allow. Quiet before 09:00; busy from 10:00 and at weekends. Swim only where the signs and flags allow; do not swim under a red flag.
Walk:Next, stop 2: Saint-Gilles port and promenade. It's about 11 minutes on foot, about 500 metres to the south-east. Route: Walk back along the seafront. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
2. Saint-Gilles port and promenade
Port de Saint-Gilles
Look for
- Marina quay and boat desks
- Seafront promenade
- Marina café
Stop 2 of 3: Saint-Gilles port and promenade. Locally, Port de Saint-Gilles. Arrival point: Marina car park or the seafront road.
Walk the marina and seafront at the start or end of the day: boats, cafés and the best sunset strip in town; it is shadeless and hot at midday.
Look for Marina quay and boat desks: Whale, dive and snorkel operators; compare prices and inclusions. Look for Seafront promenade: A flat walk with benches and beach access. Look for Marina café: A fan or AC stop for a drink and shade.
Saint-Gilles itself was a fishing hamlet and a few cane fields until the 1960s and 1970s, when the coast was developed for beach tourism. A trip to Saint-Gilles is, in this sense, a trip to the edge of a very large protected mountain. The west coast of Réunion is a long, gently curved strip between the mountains and the sea, and Saint-Gilles is its resort centre.
Do not swim off the promenade or the marina wall. Quiet before 09:00; busy from 17:00 to 20:00, and on Friday and Saturday nights. No swimming from the marina wall or promenade; use the lagoon or a supervised zone.
Walk:Next, stop 3: Whale watching and boat trips from the port. It's about 3 minutes on foot, about 50 metres to the north-east. Route: Walk along the quay to the boat desks. The tour waits here. Tap I've arrived when you get there.
3. Whale watching and boat trips from the port
Observation des baleines et sorties en mer
Look for
- Boarding and safety briefing
- Boat trip along the coast
- Whale watching
Stop 3 of 3: Whale watching and boat trips from the port. Locally, Observation des baleines et sorties en mer. Arrival point: Saint-Gilles marina, boat desks and pontoons.
Book a morning boat from the marina: humpback whales from about July to October, coast and glass-bottom trips all year; choose an operator that follows the marine-reserve charter.
Look for Boarding and safety briefing: Arrive 30 minutes before; lifejackets are issued. Look for Boat trip along the coast: Views of the cliffs, the lagoon and the mountains. Look for Whale watching: Humpbacks from about July to October; sightings are not guaranteed.
Boat trips from the marina run to see humpback whales, which come to the island from Antarctica to breed and give birth from about July to October, and the operators are required to keep their distance from the animals. The lagoon is a calm, warm place to swim, and the reef and the whales are within a short boat ride. The best months for a first trip are May to October, when the water is clear, the sea is calm in the lagoon and whales arrive from July.
Do not swim with or feed whales: boats must keep the reserve's distance. Morning boats fill at weekends and school holidays; midweek is quieter. Boats keep the reserve's approach distance from whales; do not ask the skipper to go closer.
Whale watching and boat trips from the port: hours, tickets and rules →
End of the walk
That's the end of the Saint-Gilles port and seafront walk. To carry on, L'Hermitage lagoon is about 12 minutes away (short car or long walk south). To carry on, Boucan Canot is about 10 minutes away (car north).
Built from this site's place pages, walking times and city deep dive; nothing is added that isn't on those pages. Opening hours, prices and rules change: check each place page before you go. Walking times are typical (median) and assume a steady pace.