Place d'Armes is the ceremonial axis of Port Louis — a long palm-lined square running from the harbour up to Government House, the colonial-era seat of administration. The avenue of royal palms was planted in 1772 and is still the postcard image of the city.
Around the square sit the Natural History Museum, the National History Museum, the Mauritius Postal Museum, and the parliament building. A statue of Mahé de Labourdonnais, the French governor who founded Port Louis in 1735, stands at the harbour end facing the sea he sailed in on.