Brazzaville in 3 days

Basilique Sainte-Anne du Congo (the most important and most beautiful church in Central Africa — the red-and-white brick Byzantine-inspired basilica in the Poto-Poto neighbourhood of Brazzaville): built by the Spiritan (Holy Ghost Fathers — the Congrégation du Saint-Esprit: the most important Catholic missionary order in sub-Saharan Africa: the order that Christianized the largest part of the French-speaking Catholic Africa from the 19th century) between 1943 and 1949: the most important architectural achievement in the history of the Republic of Congo (the basilica combines the Byzantine structural tradition (the central dome, the semi-circular apse, the drum windows) with the West African brick-building tradition (the red laterite brick of the Congo Basin — the most available building material in the humid equatorial zone of the Congo Basin) and the French missionary architectural tradition (the Spiritan missionaries used the most available local materials and the most practical building techniques for the tropical climate in the construction of their Central African churches)): the interior (the most spectacular sacred interior in the Republic of Congo: the Byzantine mosaics on the apse wall (depicting the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child in the most important Byzantine iconographic tradition), the African-themed stained glass windows (the most important sacred art commission in the Republic of Congo: the windows depicting the Congolese landscape, the Congo River and the Congolese people in the stained glass medium of the European Gothic cathedral tradition)).

Brazzaville maquis lunch (the "maquis" — the outdoor restaurant that is the most important restaurant format in Francophone Central and West Africa: the name "maquis" (from the French word for the dense scrubland vegetation of the Corsican countryside (the "maquis corsican" — the shrubland that sheltered the Corsican independence fighters and the French Resistance in the Second World War)): the maquis is the informal, open-air restaurant with the plastic chairs, the shared tables and the most authentic and the most affordable Congolese cuisine (the most important place to eat in Brazzaville)): the saka-saka (the most important dish in the Republic of Congo — the "pondu" in Lingala (the most widely spoken language in the Congo Basin): the slow-cooked cassava leaves (the "feuilles de manioc" — the leaves of the cassava plant (Manihot esculenta): the most consumed leaf vegetable in the Congo Basin: the leaves must be ground and then soaked (the most important preparation step — the raw cassava leaves contain the toxic cyanogenic glycosides that must be removed by the grinding and the soaking before cooking) then slow-cooked for 3–4 hours with the red palm oil (the most important cooking fat in Central Africa — the oil extracted from the pericarp (the outer flesh) of the oil palm fruit (Elaeis guineensis): the most nutritionally dense cooking oil in the world with the highest concentration of carotenoids (the most important antioxidants in the human diet) of any vegetable oil), the smoked fish, the onion and the garlic): the Primus beer (the most important beer brand in Central Africa: the Belgian-style lager brewed in Kinshasa and distributed throughout the Congo Basin: the most consumed beer in the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo).

Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza Memorial (the most important historical monument in Brazzaville — the tomb and museum dedicated to the founder of the city): Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (1852–1905) — the Italian-born French explorer and colonial administrator (born Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà in Rome to an Italian noble family: became a French citizen and joined the French Navy in 1866): the most important French explorer in Central Africa (de Brazza conducted three major expeditions into the Congo Basin (1875–1876, 1879–1882, and 1883–1885) and was the first European to establish a permanent French presence on the north bank of the Congo River): the "Makoko Treaty" (1880 — the most important colonial treaty in the history of the French Congo: the treaty signed between de Brazza and the Teke king Makoko (the "Makoko" — the paramount chief of the Teke people (the most important political power on the north bank of the Congo River in the 19th century)): in the treaty, King Makoko placed his territory under French protection in exchange for French support against the slave traders and the rival African kingdoms: the treaty gave France its most important foothold in the Congo Basin and established the French Congo (the future Republic of Congo) as a French colony)): the mausoleum (the most beautiful mausoleum architecture in Central Africa — built 2006 to house the remains of de Brazza (returned from Algeria where he had been buried since 1905) and his family: the most important architectural achievement in the Republic of Congo since the Basilique Sainte-Anne).

Poto-Poto school of painting (the most important modern art school in Central Africa and one of the most important African art movements of the 20th century): founded in 1951 in the Poto-Poto neighbourhood of Brazzaville by the French artist Pierre Lods (the most important mentor of modern African art in Francophone Africa: Pierre Lods (1921–1988) — the French artist who came to Brazzaville as a teacher in 1949 and established the Poto-Poto atelier (the studio-school) in 1951 where he taught the Congolese artists to use the Western medium of the painting (the oil on canvas and the gouache on paper) to express the most authentically African subjects in the most authentically African visual style): the Poto-Poto style (the most distinctive African modern art style in Central Africa: the flat, graphic, brightly colored depictions of the everyday Congolese life (the market scenes, the Congo River fishing, the ndombolo dancing, the sapeur fashion), the traditional Congolese village life and the Congo Basin landscape: the most important characteristic of the Poto-Poto style is the flattening of space (no perspective, no shadow) and the use of the most brilliant and the most saturated colors from the Congolese environment (the red of the laterite soil, the green of the equatorial forest, the blue-grey of the Congo River and the bright yellow of the cassava flowers)).

Parc Zoologique de Brazzaville (the Brazzaville Zoo — the most important wildlife conservation facility in the Republic of Congo): the western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla — the most endangered great ape in Africa and the most important conservation priority in the Congo Basin: the gorilla (the largest non-human primate on Earth: the adult male "silverback" gorilla can weigh up to 250kg and have an arm span of 2.5m) was first described to the Western world by the explorer Paul du Chaillu (the Gabonese-born Franco-American explorer who encountered the gorilla in the Gabon forests in 1856 and was the most important person in bringing the gorilla to the attention of European science (the name "gorilla" comes from the Phoenician-Greek word "Gorillai" — the name for the hairy wild women described by the Carthaginian explorer Hanno the Navigator on his circumnavigation of West Africa in approximately 500 BCE)): the forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis — the African forest elephant: the smaller, more compact species of African elephant (the forest elephant is the most elusive and the most recently scientifically validated of the three elephant species (the African savanna elephant (Loxodonta africana), the African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus)): the forest elephant was only recognized as a separate species from the African savanna elephant in 2001 by the most comprehensive genetic analysis of African elephant populations)).

Congo River pirogue excursion (the most important river experience in Central Africa): the motorized pirogue (the dugout canoe carved from a single tree trunk, fitted with an outboard motor — the most important transport vehicle on the Congo River: the pirogue has been the most important river transport in the Congo Basin for at least 10,000 years): the Congo River (the second-largest river in the world by discharge volume: the Congo discharges 41,000 m³/s into the Atlantic Ocean (the second-largest river discharge in the world after the Amazon (209,000 m³/s)) — more water than any river outside the Amazon): the most important waterway in Africa (the Congo River and its tributaries form the most important inland waterway network in Africa: the 4,700km Congo River main channel (the second-longest river in Africa after the Nile) plus the 2,000+ tributaries (the most complex river network in Africa) draining the most important tropical rainforest in the world after the Amazon (the Congo Basin rainforest: 3.4 million km² — the most important carbon sink in Africa and the most important biodiversity hotspot in the world after the Amazon): the river fish (the most important source of protein for the 100 million people of the Congo Basin: the Congo River has the most fish species of any river in Africa (approximately 700 species — more fish species than any other river system on Earth (after the Amazon))).

Poto-Poto neighbourhood walk (the most important traditional neighbourhood in Brazzaville and the cultural heart of the Congolese capital): the "quartier indigène" (the "indigenous quarter" of the French colonial period — the neighbourhood established for the African population of Brazzaville under the French colonial regime (the most important spatial legacy of the French colonial period in Central Africa: the "dual city" urban structure (the "ville européenne" — the European town, with the wide boulevards, the colonial administrative buildings and the European housing for the colonial administrators and the European merchants — and the "ville indigène" (the African town): the densely built, organically planned neighbourhood for the Congolese population)): the Poto-Poto neighbourhood (the most densely populated neighbourhood in Brazzaville (approximately 80,000 residents in 3 km²): the most important cultural quarter in the Congolese capital: the Basilique Sainte-Anne, the Poto-Poto School of Painting and the most vibrant street life in Brazzaville are all located in or immediately adjacent to the Poto-Poto neighbourhood): the hair salons (the most important personal care and social institution in Central Africa: the hair salon (the "salon de coiffure") is the most important meeting place and the most important social hub in the Congolese neighbourhood — the women spend up to 8 hours in the hair salon for the most complex braiding, weaving and styling of the African hair (the most elaborate hair culture in the world)).

Farewell Congolese evening: the moambe (the most important festive dish in the Republic of Congo and the most important dish in the entire Congolese diaspora worldwide — the "poulet moambe" (the chicken moambe)): the palm nut stew (the "sauce moambe" — the sauce made from the pounded and boiled flesh of the oil palm fruit (the Elaeis guineensis fruit): the red palm oil extracted from the boiling is the base of the sauce (the most important single ingredient in Central African cooking): combined with the chicken (the "poulet" — the free-range chicken of the Congo Basin farmyard), the garlic, the onion and the salt: the result is the most richly flavored and the most nutritionally complete chicken dish in the Central African culinary tradition): the pondu (the cassava leaf stew: the "feuilles de manioc" slow-cooked with the palm oil and the smoked fish): the bikutsi music (the most important music genre of the Beti people of Cameroon — popular in Brazzaville: the fast-paced, call-and-response, percussion-heavy dance music that is the most energetic music in Central Africa after the Congolese ndombolo): the Primus beer (the most important beer brand in the Congo Basin: the Belgian-style lager that is the most consumed beer in both the Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo).