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The Rova Royal Palace

The ancient palace of Madagascar's Merina queens sits on the highest point in the city. The climb is short, the views are sweeping and the history hits you harder than you expect. Start your visit here and everything else in Tana makes more sense.

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Analakely Market

Handwoven lamba fabrics, fresh vanilla pods, zebu leather and intricate woodwork from artisan families who have been trading here for generations. Go without a shopping list. Leave with more than you planned. Haggling is expected, enthusiastic and genuinely enjoyable.

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Museum of Art and Archaeology

Two thousand years of Malagasy civilisation across two floors. Royal jewellery, sacred objects, archaeological finds and traditional art that tells the story of an island that developed entirely on its own terms. Block out two hours and do not rush it.

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Tsimbazaza Zoo and Botanical Garden

Your first lemur encounter, before you even leave the city. Ring-tailed lemurs, giant tortoises, panther chameleons and hundreds of endemic plant species, all a short tuk-tuk ride from the centre. A perfect warm-up before the national parks.

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Rooftop Dining and Local Flavours

Ravitoto slow-cooked with pork. Romazava beef stew with greens. Mofo gasy rice cakes sizzling on a pavement griddle for almost nothing. Then a rooftop table in Haute Ville, a cold Trois Chevaux and a view over the whole city as the sky turns orange. Budget for it. You will go back twice.

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Starting Point of the Great RN7 Road Trip

One road, going south. Baobab alleys outside Morondava, the tea plantations of Fianarantsoa, the red canyon of Isalo, and eventually the Indian Ocean at Tuléar. The greatest overland journey in the Indian Ocean starts right here in Tana. Everything after the first turn is extraordinary.