Skip to content
Mixroutes
Capital of Cape Verde · Cabo Verde · Praia

Praia

Praia is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.

Praia
Praia · Wikimedia Commons (see file page)
The place

Praia is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde. Located on the southern coast of Santiago island within the Sotavento Islands group, the city is the seat of the Praia Municipality. Praia is the political, economic and cultural center of Cape Verde.

Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What is there

Worth seeing in and around Praia

10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.

  1. 01
    Estádio da Várzea

    Estádio da Várzea is a multi-purpose stadium in Praia, Cape Verde, just west of Plateau, the city center, in the subdivision of Várzea and on Avenida Cidade de Lisboa on its east side. It is currently used mostly for football matches.

    400 m · stadium · Wikipedia
  2. 02
    National Library of Cape Verde

    The National Library of Cape Verde is located in Praia, Cape Verde. The library was established in 1999.

    400 m · national library · Wikipedia
  3. 03
    University of Cape Verde

    The University of Cape Verde is the only public university of Cape Verde. It was established in November 2006.

    4.3 km · public university in Cape Verde (IAU-018544) · Wikipedia
  4. 04
    Universidade Jean Piaget de Cabo Verde

    The Jean Piaget University of Cape Verde is a private university in Cape Verde. It was established on 7 May 2001, and now has about 2,000 students and 380 academic staff.

    3.2 km · university in Cape Verde (IAU-018687) · Wikipedia
  5. 05
    Farol de D. Maria Pia

    Farol de Dona Maria Pia is a lighthouse at the southernmost point of the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. It stands on the headland Ponta Temerosa, at the entrance of Praia Harbour, 2 km south of the city centre of Praia.

    2 km · lighthouse in Cape Verde · Wikipedia
  6. 06
    Museu Etnográfico da Praia

    Museu Etnográfico da Praia is an ethnographic museum in the Cape Verdean capital of Praia on the island of Santiago. It is located at 45 Rua 5 de Julho, in the historic part of the city, the Plateau.

    400 m · ethnographic Museum in Santiago, Cape Verde · Wikipedia
  7. 07
    Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace, Praia

    The Pro-Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace is a catholic church on the east side of Praça Alexandre Albuquerque, in the city centre of Praia, on the island of Santiago, Cape Verde. The church was built between 1894 and 1902.

    100 m · church building in Cape Verde · Wikipedia
  8. 08
    Palácio Presidencial

    The Palácio da Presidência da República is a public building in the city centre of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde. It is situated on Rua Serpa Pinto, at the south end of Plateau, the historic district of Praia.

    200 m · building in Africa · Wikipedia
  9. 09
    Quartel Jaime Mota

    Quartel Jaime Mota is a historical building in the historic city centre of Praia, Cape Verde. It is situated at the southern end of Avenida Andrade Corvo, near the Presidential Palace of Cape Verde.

    300 m · building in Cape Verde · Wikipedia
  10. 10
    Complexo Desportivo Adega

    Complexo Desportivo Adega is a multi-purpose stadium in the Achada Grande Trás section of Praia, Cape Verde. It is currently used mostly for football matches and athletics competitions, much of the football training are used for practices.

    2.4 km · building in Africa · Wikipedia

Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.

See

What Wikivoyage says to see

A large part of the sights are located at the plateau. The old city wall complete with the old cannons protected it from attackers arriving by sea. The governmental district is in the southern part of town.

  1. 01
    Praia

    Built in neoclassicist style with a square central tower, the town hall is one of the finest examples of colonial architecture around.

  2. 02
    Praia Cathedral

    The city's cathedral was constructed in 1902 in classicist style.

  3. 03
    Supreme Court

    The supreme court is a pretty building at the Praça Alexandre Albuquerque.

  4. 04
    Presidential Palace

    Built in the late 19th century as the residence of the Portuguese governor, nowadays it is the presidential palace.

  5. 05
    Quartel Jaime Mota

    Old barracks next to the presidential palace, have seen better days.

  6. 06
    Igreja do Nazareno

    A Protestant church.

From Wikivoyage: Praia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Do

Things to do

Cape Verdeans like to party, and there are many events throughout the year. The largest of them is the carnival, taking place in the beginning of the year as elsewhere in the Catholic world. With its procession and dances it is not too dissimilar to the Brazilian version, but here the processions aren't strictly arranged by samba schools but rather a spontaneous and informal event where everyone can partake.

  1. 01
    Praia de Prainha
  2. 02
    Praia Negra

From Wikivoyage: Praia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Eat

Where to eat

  1. 01
    Sovaco de Cobra

    Down-to-earth restaurant popular among locals.

  2. 02
    Café Sofia
  3. 03
    Restaurante Punto D'Incontro

    Avenida Cidade de Lisboa, oceandrive@cvtelecom.cv.

  4. 04
    Restaurante Panorama

    Rua Serpa Pinto, fax: +238 2 613076, panorama@cvtelecom.cv.

  5. 05
    Restaurante Flor de Liz

    Cap Verdean cuisine, wide menu and large servings.

From Wikivoyage: Praia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.

Go there

Getting to Praia

Airports
Nelson Mandela (RAI), 4 km · Aristides Pereira (BVC), 151 km · Amílcar Cabral (SID), 211 km
Stations
Praia International Airport, 3.7 km · Francisco Mendes International Airport, 1.8 km · Porto da Praia, 900 m
  • Rabil → Praia
    Train, bus, flight, ferry and road, side by side
  • Espargos → Praia
    212 km · quickest by road, 60h 6m · $20–27
  • São Pedro → Praia
    Train, bus, flight, ferry and road, side by side
  • From anywhere
    The planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
    Plan a trip

Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.

Not yet researched

No local-transport research exists yet for Praia

Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Praia. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.

What Wikivoyage says about moving around
  • Get inThere are ferry boats that have irregular service to and from the islands of Maio, Boavista, Sal and Sao Nicolau, and more regular and scheduled service to and from Sao Vicente and Fogo.
  • Get inAs of 2014, there were regular ferries from Fogo (4 hours) and Brava (just 40 min from Fogo).
  • Go nextCidade Velha, the historic capital, is an easy half-day or day trip and something not to be missed if you're interested in history.

From Wikivoyage: Praia, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-02.

The nearest places where the work is done
  1. 01
    Santo AntãoCV

    9 ways of moving, 32 sources

    298 km
  2. 02
    Merzouga and Erg ChebbiMA

    8 ways of moving, 41 sources

    2,678 km
  3. 03
    ChefchaouenMA

    8 ways of moving, 30 sources

    2,896 km
  4. 04
    Morro de São Paulo and Ilha de TinharéBR

    9 ways of moving, 31 sources

    3,574 km
  5. 05
    ParamariboSR

    12 ways of moving, 21 sources

    3,605 km

If you know how people move in Praia – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.

Around it

Next door to Praia

  • Prainhaneighbourhood in Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde1.4 km
  • Gamboaneighbourhood in Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde500 m
  • Quebra Canelaneighbourhood in Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde1.8 km
  • Achadinha de Baixoneighborhood in Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde1.2 km
  • Achada Grande Trasneighborhood in Praia, Santiago Island, Cape Verde2.4 km
  • Achada Grande Frenteneighborhood of Praia, Santiago, Cape Verde1 km