Pointe des Galets is the principal port of this 980-square-mile island, located 480 miles east of Madagascar and 130 miles southwest of Mauritius. The archipelago of Reunion and Mauritius was named the Mascarenes following its discovery in 1512 by the Portuguese navigator Pedro de Mascarenhas.The French took the initiative of settling the island in 1642. No one actually lived there until four years later when the French governor of Fort Dauphin, Madagascar exiled a dozen mutineers to Reunion. In 1649 the King of France officially took possession and renamed the island Ile Bourbon, after Colbert Bourbon, the founder of the French East India Company. Following the French Revolution, Ile Bourbon came under the rule of the Colonial Assembly and was given the name Reunion. Since 1946 the island has been appointed a Departement Français d'Outre Mer, a title it shares with Guadeloupe, Martinique and French Guyane. Reunion is perhaps one of France's best-kept secrets. Not many people outside France have heard of the island.

With its active volcano, Reunion is often likened to Hawaii. Two thirds of the island's western side is covered by mountain ranges; the 9,200-foot Piton des Neiges is the highest point. Between the alpine peaks and the coast grow palm trees, screw pines, casuarinas, sugar cane, spices, fruit and vegetable crops, tropical rain forests and an abundance of flowers, making the island appear as one big botanical garden.
Although the beaches are not the top attraction, the island draws scores of visitors, mostly from France, followed by the Swiss and Mauritians. They come to Reunion to explore the mountains and the unique Cirques. The island offers a taste of Creole-flavored French culture along with the luxuries of downtown Paris in a tropical climate. It allows living in style, but at high prices. French is the official language, but Créole is the most widely spoken one. Sixty percent of the island's needs are imported from France; in turn, France buys almost the same percentage of Reunion's products. The major source of income is from agriculture, mainly sugar cane, vanilla and the production of geranium oil used as a fixative in perfumes.