Holiday in Maputo

About Maputo

Maputo is the capital of Mozambique and perhaps the most stylish city in southern Africa — a 1.3 million metropolis on the Indian Ocean that combines Portuguese colonial architecture, Art Deco elegance, Mozambican art, and one of the best seafood scenes on the continent. The old nickname 'Pearl of the Indian Ocean' still fits today as the afternoon light bathes the Bougainvillea-adorned facades of Baixa (the lower town) in golden light. The Maputo train station, designed with the involvement of Gustave Eiffel's office, is the most photogenic building in the city: a dome-crowned facade made of copper and wrought iron that resembles a palace more than a train station. Inside, a growing art market takes place. The fish market (Mercado do Peixe) right by the harbor is Maputo's culinary heart: you choose your fish, shrimp, or lobsters at the stand, and they are grilled next door — it doesn't get fresher than that. The Fortaleza de Maputo, the National Museum of Art (featuring works by Malangatana, Mozambique's most famous painter), and the Casa de Ferro (an iron house allegedly designed by Eiffel) form a triangle of major attractions. Avenida Julius Nyerere, the main avenue, is lined with Jacaranda trees and colonial villas, increasingly occupied by galleries and restaurants. Inhaca Island, 30 km off the coast and accessible by ferry, offers snorkeling, dolphins, and tropical tranquility.