Praia is the capital of Cape Verde (Cabo Verde), an island nation of 550,000 people on 10 volcanic islands 570 km off the coast of Senegal in the Atlantic Ocean — a former Portuguese colony (discovered uninhabited in 1456, colonized with enslaved Africans who became the majority of the population, independent in 1975) that has become one of Africa's most stable democracies and development success stories, ranking first in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance for West Africa. The Cape Verdean people (the Badiu of Santiago Island, where Praia is located, are the most African in character; the Sampadjudo of the northern islands are more Portuguese-influenced) speak Kriolu (Cape Verdean Creole, a Portuguese-based creole with significant West African vocabulary) and Portuguese; the culture is defined by the concept of saudade (a Portuguese word for nostalgic longing, difficult to translate — a deep emotional state of longing for something loved and lost or absent) expressed most perfectly in morna music, the traditional Cape Verdean musical genre that the world knows through the voice of Cesária Évora (1941–2011, "the Barefoot Diva", who performed without shoes in solidarity with Cape Verde's poor and whose recordings of morna made Cape Verde's music internationally famous). Praia is on the island of Santiago (the largest Cape Verde island), a volcanic landscape of dramatic ribeiras (river gorges), baobab trees, banana and sugar cane plantations in the valleys, and the plateau (plateau — hence "Praia") of the capital city overlooking the Atlantic. The historic quarter of Plateau has the finest colonial architecture in the country, and the 1.5 hrs drive to Cidade Velha (the first European city built in the tropics, UNESCO World Heritage, founded 1462) is the essential Cape Verde historical experience.
The Plateau (the original colonial town of Praia, built on a clifftop 40 m above the sea) has the finest colonial architecture in Cape Verde — the Praça Alexandre Albuquerque (main square with the statue of the colonial governor and the pink Municipal Palace, 1920), the Nossa Senhora da Graça Cathedral (17th century), and the narrow streets of the former Portuguese administrative town; the views from the plateau edge over the Bay of Praia are fine.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Ethnographic Museum of Praia has a thorough collection of Cape Verdean material culture — the traditional agriculture tools (used on the ribeira terraces for maize, manioc and cana de açúcar), the woven fabrics (the panos de terra, the traditional Cape Verdean woven cloth in blue-and-white that was the currency of the slave trade), musical instruments (the violão — Spanish guitar — and cavaquinho used for morna) and the full history of the slave trade through Cape Verde.
The Mercado de Sucupira (the largest market in Cape Verde, on the edge of the Plateau) has the full range of Cape Verdean goods — panos de terra (traditional woven cloth), grogue (the Cape Verdean rum distilled from sugar cane, similar to Brazilian cachaça), dried fish (the Atlantic Blue Fish, the main protein source), African fabrics, electronics and the everyday life of a West African-Atlantic city.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuidePraia Negra (the black sand beach below the Plateau, named for the volcanic black sand — Santiago's beaches are predominantly black rather than white, due to the recent volcanic origin of the island) for the Atlantic sunset — the black sand, the dramatic cliffs of the Plateau above and the fishing boats are the quintessential Santiago Island seascape; several praia-side restaurants serve fresh grilled fish.
Morna is Cape Verde's most famous musical genre — a slow, melancholic ballad expressing saudade (longing and nostalgia for lost loves, the islands, the sea) that Cesária Évora brought to international fame in the 1990s; the cultural center shows and the restaurant-bars of the Plateau (Quintal da Música, Bar Marisqueira) have live morna performances; the music is one of the most emotionally affecting in the world.
Cidade Velha (15 km west of Praia, 1 hr by shared taxi or 30 min by rental car) was the first European city built in the tropics (founded 1462, UNESCO 2009) — the Pillory (Pelourinho, where enslaved Africans were publicly punished before being loaded onto slave ships), the ruined Cathedral (the oldest colonial cathedral in sub-Saharan Africa), the Fort Real de São Filipe (1587, above the town, panoramic views) and the historic street grid of the first African-Atlantic colonial trading post.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Ribeira Grande valley below Cidade Velha is the most fertile agricultural landscape in Cape Verde — the terraced valley with its banana plantations, sugar cane fields (the source of grogue rum), mango trees, papaya and the permanent stream running to the sea; the local women washing clothes in the river, the donkeys on the terrace paths and the colonial-era farmhouses create a landscape unchanged in centuries.
Serra Malagueta Natural Park (the central highlands of Santiago, 1394 m at Pico de Antónia) is a different Cape Verde — the cloud forest, the tree heathers, the endemic birds (the Cape Verde sparrow, the Razo lark, the grey-headed kingfisher) and the views from the ridgelines over the entire island and the Atlantic are extraordinary; the cool temperatures (15-20°C at altitude) are a relief from the coastal heat.
Grogue (grog) is the Cape Verdean sugar cane rum — distilled in tiny local alambiques (copper pot stills) in the ribeiras of Santiago from fresh cane juice; the best grogue is from Ribeira Grande and Paul on Santo Antão island; paired with cachupa (the national dish: a slow-cooked stew of maize, beans, sweet potato, manioc and whatever meat or fish is available — described as Cape Verde's feijoada — the cachupa rica has more meat than the cachupa pobre).
Tarrafal (60 km north of Praia, 1.5 hrs) was the site of Portugal's most notorious tropical prison camp (1936-1974) — the "Campo da Morte Lenta" (Camp of Slow Death) where the Salazar dictatorship sent African independence activists and Portuguese political prisoners; the preserved camp is now a museum; the Tarrafal beach (white sand, protected bay, crystal water — the only white sand beach on Santiago) is immediately adjacent.
🎫 Book tickets via GetYourGuideThe Santa Catarina market (the largest in the interior of Santiago, 30 km from Praia) is the commercial hub of the agricultural highlands — farmers from the ribeiras selling locally grown corn, sweet potato, squash, gongon peas and live animals; the market is held Saturday morning and is the most authentic Cape Verdean market experience away from the capital.
The Praia cultural centre has the permanent exhibition on Cesária Évora (1941–2011), the "Barefoot Diva" who performed without shoes in solidarity with the poor and whose recordings of morna sold 3 million copies in France alone — the exhibition includes her costumes, the recordings, the story of how a Cape Verdean housewife who had given up music at 45 became the most internationally successful African female artist of the 20th century.
Cape Verde is famous for its lagostinha (the small Cape Verdean lobster/crayfish, actually the spiny lobster Panulirus regius), which is grilled with garlic butter and lime and served with cachupa; the waterfront restaurants in Praia serve the freshest Atlantic fish and the grilled lagostinha at CVE 2000-3000 is the finest Cape Verde dining experience; a glass of Fogo Island wine (produced on the volcanic island of Fogo) completes the meal.