Praia

Praia is the capital of Cape Verde and the largest city in the archipelago, built on a flat-topped headland called the Plateau that rises straight out of the harbour with colonial squares and administrative buildings on top. It is a working African port city rather than a resort, and the Sucupira market spreading below the Plateau is the busiest trading place in the country. Live music runs late in the Prainha and Achada bars. Beaches lie within the city limits, and the whole island opens up from here by road. The city rewards a night rather than an afternoon, and its music is the reason.