Praia & Cidade Velha @ Ease

by bus & on foot

Departing from the port in Praia, your journey will take you through the capital then west towards the coastal town of Cidade Velha. Your first stop will be for photos at the Royal Fortress of Sao Filipe, located 120m (393ft) above sea level. Originally built to defend the city against pirate attacks, the fort provides you with wonderful views overlooking Cidade Velha and the south coast.

Rejoining your bus, you will descend into the town centre and explore along Rua Banana, a street lined with old stone houses. The town of Ribeira Grande, renamed Cidade Velha in the late 18th century, was the first European colonial outpost in the tropics and has been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2009. As you drive through the centre, you will learn how the settlement became an important trading post for slaves, which led to it becoming the second richest city in the Portuguese realm.

Your journey then continues back to the centre of Praia, where you will drive along Avenida Cidade de Lisboa, the most modern street of Praia. You will pass the Palace of the Government, the Estadio da Varzea (Football Stadium), the National Library and the statue of Amilcar Cabral.

Reaching the historic centre, an area known as ‘Plateau’, you will see the Presidential Palace, the Cathedral and the statue of Diogo Gomes, who discovered the islands of Cape Verde in 1460. Here you will make a stop to visit one of Cape Verde’s beautiful old colonial houses called ‘sobrados’. This sobrado has been converted into Praia’s Ethnographic Museum and is devoted to the country’s rich past as a cultural crossroads. Displays range from the history of fishing and traditional ‘panos’ (woven cotton fabrics) to cooking utensils used in the days before electricity.

Following your visit, rejoin your bus for the short transfer back to the port.