Saint-Paul was the capital of the island from its settlement in the early 16th century,[3] until Saint-Denis took over that role in 1738.

[5] Until 1999, near Saint Paul there was the 428-metre (1,404 ft) tall mast OMEGA Chabrier transmitter.

[6] Saint-Paul was to be the western terminus of the proposed Réunion Tram Train.

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.