Mindelo

Mindelo is on the island of São Vicente. Mindelo is the cultural capital of Cape Verde. You'll hear traditional music commonly played in bars and restaurants around town.

Get in
From the airport at São Pedro taxis take you to Mindelo for $800 (Cape Verde escudos) during the day and $1000 in the evening.

You can also walk the 100 m from the airport up to the main road. From there it is probably possible to flag down an aluguer.

The port at Mindelo has regular ferries across to Porto Novo on Santo Antão. Make sure you have a driver's license or passport before buying the tickets. Their website does not work very well.

Get around
A lot of the town is walkable. Local buses travel some limited routes and taxis are common.

150 escudos gets you around town.

You can also take buses.

Walking tour
Starting at Praça Nova (officially named Praça Amilcar Cabral) walk south past the historic CV Telecom building. Continue until you reach the Alliance Francaise. Diagonally opposite is Chava d'Ouro which is a good place for lunch and dinner or coffee and cake. Turn right into Rua Libertadores d'Africa to reach the eagle monument at the shore. Turn left to head south again past the Torre de Belem and the fish market where the road curves left to enter Praça Independencia and a general market. A narrow road bisects the square. Follow it north past the church, parliament and Mercado Municipal indoor market. Turn right after the market to reach Palácio do Povo. Turn left here and follow Avenida Baltazar Lopes da Silva north until Rua Patrice Lumumba. Turning left here returns you to Praça Nova.

From here you can head west past Hotel Mindel and its terraced bar restaurant and reach a small beach in the harbour. Head north along the road to reach the port. The boat for Santo Antão leaves from here. Looking back along the coast gives you the best view of the city.

If you still have time and energy a 20-min walk to the north will take you around the headland, through the port area to a pleasant and popular beach in the next bay. From here you can walk or take a bus back to town.

Eat
The most famous Capverdian dish is the catchupa, which you can get at any stand in the Quiosque Praça Nova, expect to pay around $200 (€2) for a catchupa or a feijoada with fish. There are also several cafés between Praça Nova and Rua Lisboa (Café Dalia, Café Confiança, etc.)



Drink

 * cheap grog (rum) and pontche in the local bars of rua Santo Antonio

Go next
Go to Santo Antão: a different island with magical landscapes. At least two boats a day leave from Mindelo to Porto Novo for $300 (tickets can be bought at the harbour)