Praia Plateau

The Plateau is exactly that: a flat-topped rock rising above the harbour, chosen in the sixteenth century because it could be defended, and the old town of Praia was laid out on it in a grid around a central square. Pastel administrative buildings, the presidential palace, the Nossa Senhora da Graça church and the ethnographic museum stand along the streets, and the whole thing drops away in cliffs to the port and the newer city below.

What you actually see

• Praca Alexandre Albuquerque - the central square with its bandstand and jacarandas.
• The presidential palace - the nineteenth-century residence at the plateau edge.
• The ethnographic museum - the national collection of Cape Verdean material culture.
• The plateau edge - the drop to the harbour and the lower city.

When to go

November to June is the dry season and the most comfortable. Mornings are best before the heat. August and September bring the short rains.

Honest expectations

The Plateau is a working administrative centre rather than a preserved quarter and much of it is ordinary. Museum hours are limited. Normal city care applies after dark.

Nearby

Sucupira Market is below, and Cidade Velha is west.