Victoria (Seychelles)

Introduction

seychelles

© jelen

Victoria is the capital and largest city of the island nation Seychelles and has a total population of around 30,000 in the total metropolitan area. It is located on the northeastern side of the main island Mahé. Victoria is probably the only place in the country to experience something other than quiet secluded beaches and tropical landscapes as the city offers a lively and charming atmosphere with good facilities and several historical and cultural buildings to visit. Also connections to nearby attractions are good, by plane, boat as well as by car.

Neighbourhoods

• La Riviere Anglaise (English River)
• Mont Buxton
• Saint Louis
• Bel Air
• Mont Fleuri
• Roche Caiman
• Les Mamelles
• Plaisance

Sights and Activities

• Clocktower
• Courthouse
• The Victoria Botanical Gardens
• The Victoria National Museum of History
• The Victoria Natural History Museum
• The Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market

Events and Festivals

Seychelles International Carnival of Victoria

This fun, annual event is spread over three days at various locations on Mahé Island to highlight the various cultures that have helped shape the Seychelles. It features float parades during the day, while all main hotels host special events that take place the first few weeks of February.

Weather

Victoria enjoys a pleasantly warm and humid tropical climate with average daytime temperatures between 28 °C and 30 °C and night time temperatures just slightly lower with 24 °C to 26 °C. May to October is the dry period with slightly lower temperatures. December and January are particularly wet with around 400 mm of rain a month. During this time occasionally a hurricane can strike the town and nearby islands.

Getting There

By Plane

Air Seychelles is the national airline of the country and is based at Seychelles International Airport (SEZ) near the capital Victoria on the main island of Mahé. It has flights to and from Abu Dhabi, Mumbai, Mauritius and Johannesburg. They have several daily domestic flights to/from Praslin (20min duration).

Other airlines reaching Seychelles (SEZ) are London (British Airways), Paris (Air France), Frankfurt (Condor), Zurich (Edelweiss Air), Vienna (Austrian), Istanbul (Turkish Airlines), Doha (Qatar Airways), Abu Dhabi (Etihad Airways), Dubai (Emirates), Colombo (SriLankan Airlines), Addis Ababa (Ethiopian Airlines), Nairobi (Kenya Airways), Moroni (Turkish Airlines) and Reunion (Air Austral).

Smaller planes fly to La Digue and VIP charters to many private islands.

By Boat

High speed catamarans operate two or three thrice daily roundtrips between Victoria and the island of Praslin. The sailing normally takes one hour but can be more in rough weather. Small boats cross the waters from Victoria directly to La Digue but departures are unreliable, especially during the rougher wet season, there is limited cover when it rains and the journey takes about 3 hours so some seasickness pills are advised!

Sleep

Keep Connected

Internet

Wifi is increasingly available in many hotels and restaurants, sometimes at a cost.

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

Seychelles' international telephone code is 248.

Post

Seychelles's local postal services offers the possibility to send your postcard overseas. It is generally reliable and cheap, but not very fast. To send parcels, look for companies like FedEx or UPS.

External Links