Antananarivo, Madagascar

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Tana is like many other Asian or African capitals: crowded, polluted and noisy, but it does have some spectacular parts that are worth exploring. The hub of the lower town is Araben ny Fahaleovantena (commonly known as Avenue de l'Indépendance). At one end is the railway station and at the other is Hôtel Glacier. This district is known as Analakely and is packed with permanent street markets, and swarms of off-white umbrellas, perched precariously on old tyre rims, shade the vendors. To the south-west of Analakely is the Kianja ny Fahaleovantena (Place de l'Indépendance) in the area of Haute-Ville (Upper Town). That's where you'll find the main post office, several banks, restaurants and nightclubs. Uphill from there, narrow streets lead past churches and other former royal buildings to the ruins of the Rova, the former Queen's palace. The Rova was burned to the ground in 1995, almost certainly in a politically motivated attack during local elections. In north-eastern Tana, the Andravoahangy Market is where stonemasons, embroiderers, booksellers, carpenters and other professional craftspeople make and sell their wares. You will see them at work here, but don't let them distract you entirely with their skills and showmanship; thieves and pickpockets are often active in local markets. The Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza is worth visiting unless you have already been up country to visit the national parks. It has several species of lemurs (caged and uncaged) including the aye-aye, and other rare species such as egrets, herons, crocodiles and Aldabran and Malagasy tortoises. On the zoo grounds is the Musée d'Académie Malgache with some excellent natural and cultural exhibits, including the skeletal remains and preserved eggs of the extinct elephant bird, giant lemurs, a short-tailed white hippo and a dugong. In another room there are exhibits of Malagasy funerary art and tribal village life. There's a wide choice of places to stay in central Tana, but not much value for money. The cheaper hotels are dirty and noisy and usually double as brothels, so if you don't want to pay the extra for safety and cleanliness, you should head out into the countryside. Tana doesn't have a great range of restaurants despite nearly 50 years of French rule, although many offer special menus du jour and plats du jour that are relatively cheap. Suburban Tana, and the area around the Zoma Market, are good for street stalls selling everything from yoghurt dishes and ice cream to meat samosas and other unidentifiable objects fried in batter. You'll also find hotelys of varying quality around the taxi-brousse stations just outside of the town centre, and you can usually get a passable meal at one of them.

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General Tips about Madagascar

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» Réserve Naturelle Intégrale des Tsingy de Bemaraha
» Parc National de Montagne d'Ambre
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» Antananarivo

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