The Natural History Museum on Place d'Armes is small but contains the best collection of dodo remains in the world. The reconstructed skeleton in the central case is the star, but the surrounding cabinets cover the rest of the island's lost fauna — the giant tortoises, the solitaire, the broad-billed parrot — along with the surviving plants, fish, and shells.
The building itself is part of the appeal: a colonnaded colonial structure dating from 1880, set in the Mauritius Institute. Entry is free. The museum is closed Wednesdays and on public holidays. Allow 30 to 45 minutes.