Cidade Velha Tour: Explore World Heritage Site and Birthplace of Cape Verdean Culture

Discover the rich history of Cidade Velha, a World Heritage Site and the birthplace of Cape Verdean culture. Explore the city’s highlights and learn about colonization and slavery in Cape Verde.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Praia - Get picked up from your accommodation and travel towards Cidade Velha.
  • Cidade Velha - Explore the highlights of Cidade Velha, a World Heritage Site that represents the cradle of Cape Verdean nation and culture.
  • Convento de Sao Francisco - The Convent of São Francisco was built in the 17th century, and it has served as housing…
What's Included
  • Liability insurance included
  • Expert tour guide provided
  • Convenient pickup and drop-off at your accommodation in Praia or Cidade Velha
  • Transportation arranged for the entire tour
What's Not Included
  • Lunch
  • Entrance fee (€5 for São Filipe Fortress)
Additional Information

Discover Cidade Velha, the first city established by Europeans in sub-Saharan Africa and a designated World Heritage Site. Known as the birthplace of Cape Verde’s society and heritage, a visit to the city offers an opportunity to broaden your understanding of the nation’s colonization and slavery history. Also, don’t miss out on the key points of…

Location
Praia
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
4.7
(7 Ratings)
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Daniel_a
Oct 5, 2024
A Tour of Cape Verde's Unique Roots - Our tour of Cidade Velha with our guide Alex was fantastic! He taught us a lot about the city's rich history, from Rua Banana, the oldest street in Cape Verde to the impressive fortress and convent, he also shared incredible stories about Cape Verde’s connection with the Portuguese and even the English. We visited the oldest church in Sub-Saharan Africa and learned about the city’s role in the transatlantic slave trade which was especially moving. If you're looking for an authentic and insightful way to explore Cape Verde's heritage, I definitely recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Owen_h
Mar 31, 2024
A must see, excellently guided! - Dana was a delight and great fun to be with and was very considerate of my questions and interests. I learned a lot about Cidade Velha and it's various waves of pirate attacks, but also about the geopolitical significance of being the first European settlement in the tropics. Dana also told me some of the deeply emptional stories of how people were bought and sold in the town square, with local (captive)women singing to give those about to be taken to the new world hope of one day returning to Africa. To boost moral at its lowest ebb. Its a beautiful and deeply historic spot and well worth the trip.
Review provided by Viator
Faraway684487
Nov 6, 2021
Nice Town - Very nice town. One of the few places in Cape Verde where you can see culturally sights. The guide was very nice and was telling a lot about the history of this place and Cape Verde.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Docdynamite
Sep 20, 2021
Interesting trip to the old capital - Interesting trip to the old capital of Santiago island, learning a lot about the history of Cape Verde. Fantastic tour guides. We did several tours and were very happy that we found this company.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Reinout
Jul 4, 2019
Excellent tour - We took a tour of cidade velha, which was excellent. Our guide Zenildo took a lot of time to show interesting sights and explain the goings-on of the island. Communication was quick and clear, the driver was fine. Would definitely recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carneezy90
Nov 13, 2018
Better than I'd ever imagined! - Exceeding expectations is an understatement. I’ve been on several tours around the globe, but I’ve never experienced anything like this! A full immersion experience of culture, food, people, art, and humanity. From end-to-end the trip was packed with fun and excitement, blended with history lessons in between. Admilson’s mastery of not only the Cape Verde landscape, but the several languages he spoke and the attention to detail that was specific to the goals my wife and I looked to gain from the tour, was look nothing I’d ever seen before. I highly recommend him and his company to anyone that’s looking to get the most out of their time in CV and or their vacation. Wish we had more time, would have loved to do and see more.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Basanth
Oct 6, 2019
Not a private tour despite advertising it as such - The tour was listed as a private tour and I was under the impression it would be such. However, it wasn’t one which greatly limited the positive impact I was hoping it would have
Review provided by Viator
From $47
up to 10 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).