Saint-Paul (French pronunciation: [sɛ̃ pɔl] ; Reunionese Creole: Sin-Pol) is the second-largest commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located on the extreme west side of the island of Réunion.
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History
Saint-Paul was the capital of the island from its settlement in the early 16th century, until Saint-Denis took over that role in 1738.
The Hôtel de Ville dates from about 1740.
Until 1999, near Saint Paul there was the 428-metre (1,404 ft) tall mast OMEGA Chabrier transmitter.
Transport
Saint-Paul was to be the western terminus of the proposed Réunion Tram Train. However, the project was abandoned in May 2010 due to a lack of funds.
The traditional grave of French pirate Olivier Levasseur, nicknamed La Buse ("The Buzzard") or La Bouche ("The Mouth"), who was most famous for allegedly hiding one of the biggest treasures in pirate history, estimated at over £1 billion, is located in Saint-Paul's Cimetière marin de Saint-Paul cemetery. Besides pirates, the cemetery also serves as the permanent resting place of poets Leconte de Lisle and Eugène Dayot, as well as the painter Arthur Grimaud.
Geography
Climate
Saint-Paul has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh), tropical savanna climate (Köppen climate classification: Aw) and subtropical highland climate (Köppen climate classification: Cwb) within various parts of the commune. The average annual temperature in Saint-Paul is 25.3 °C (77.5 °F). The average annual rainfall is 482.3 mm (18.99 in) with January as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in February, at around 28.2 °C (82.8 °F), and lowest in July, at around 22.3 °C (72.1 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Saint-Paul was 37.0 °C (98.6 °F) on 25 January 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was 15.1 °C (59.2 °F) on 14 August 1991.
Culture
The Musée de Villèle—located on a former colonial plantation—addresses the subject of slavery.