Things to do in Saint-Leu and L'Étang-Salé

South of Saint-Gilles, the west coast turns more active and less polished. Saint-Leu is one of Europe's best tandem paragliding spots: launches sit above the coast, with a straight glide over the lagoon, typically €80-90 for a 20-30 minute flight.

On the ground, Kélonia's sea turtle observatory and Stella Matutina, the old sugar factory turned museum, fill a rainy or wind-grounded afternoon. Further south, L'Étang-Salé breaks the white-sand pattern of Saint-Gilles and L'Hermitage with a beach of black volcanic sand backed by a filao forest, cooler underfoot in early morning than by midday.

Swimming here, as along the rest of this coast, means staying inside the lagoon or a signed, surveilled zone, never open water offshore.