Réunion City Map Poster

About Réunion

Réunion was discovered by Portuguese explorers in 1502. It became a French colony in 1642 and remained so until 1946, when it was granted self-rule within the French Community. Since then, Réunion has become an integral part of France with only a few changes to its status: In 1954, it became an overseas department; through the new constitution of 27 October 1958 (Fourth Republic), it became an overseas region; and finally on 21 February 2007 (Fifth Republic) it became one of four overseas regions into which metropolitan France is divided. The island is named after Bourbon ("Île de Bourbon"), the name given to Île de la Réunion by explorer Marcq-Henry Marion du Fresne, who landed there on 18 November 1700 while searching for "La Grande Rivière" ("the Great River").