Two hours of it matter, and they are in the morning
Victoria in a day
You can walk the whole of the capital in an hour. Whether that hour is worth anything depends entirely on when you do it.
Two hours of it matter, and they are in the morning.
Victoria is one of the smallest capital cities in the world and you can walk the whole of the centre in an hour. That fact gets used, unfairly, as a reason to skip it. It is a working town of about twenty-five thousand people, and it is where the country actually happens rather than where the beaches are.
What decides whether the visit is worth anything is the time of day. The market empties by early afternoon, the offices close, and by four o'clock the middle of town is quiet in a way that will convince you there was nothing there.
The market, first, and before nine
The Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke market is the reason to come into town and it is at its best early. Fish on the slab from that morning's boats, fruit and vegetables upstairs and out along the street, spices, and the noise of a market that exists for the people who live here rather than for you.
By eleven the fish is going, by early afternoon most of the stalls are packing up, and on Sunday it barely opens. If you are self-catering this is also where the week's shopping starts, and it is worth going twice: once to look and once to buy.
The clock tower and the streets around it
The clock tower in the middle of the junction is a scaled replica of one on Vauxhall Bridge Road in London, erected in 1903, and it is the thing every photograph of Victoria contains. It is small, which surprises people, and it stands in the middle of the traffic.
Around it are Albert Street and Market Street, which between them hold the colonial verandahs, the shops, the banks and most of what is worth walking past. Ten minutes on foot covers it.
The Hindu temple on Quincy Street
The Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar temple was consecrated in 1992 and its gopuram is one of the tallest things in the middle of the town. It serves an Indian community that has been on these islands since the first settlement in 1770, and it is a working temple rather than a monument.
It is a short walk from the market. Go in the morning, dress as you would at home, and leave your shoes at the threshold. If you are here over Diwali, this is where the day is kept. It is not a public holiday in Seychelles, so nothing closes for it, and the temple is where you will find it happening.
The botanical garden, which is the other hour
The Seychelles National Botanical Gardens sit a short walk south of the centre and hold coco de mer palms, giant tortoises, fruit bats and a lot of shade. It is the only other thing in Victoria that needs a proper hour rather than ten minutes.
With children it is the best hour in the capital, and it is where a family that does not want a temple and a market will be happier.
Airport transfers
A driver who watches your flight number and waits with your name on a board, at a price agreed before you fly rather than at the kerb.
See transfersThe harbour, and what the town is for
Port Victoria is the reason the town exists. It is a working port with a tuna fleet, a container terminal and the inter-island quay in the same water, and the fishing boats along the front are photographed more than anything else in the capital.
The Cat Cocos to Praslin leaves from here, which is why a great many visitors see Victoria only as the ten minutes between a taxi and a boat. That is a reasonable way to spend it, but the market is four minutes away.
The Bicentennial Monument
Three pairs of white wings on a roundabout near the water, put up in 1978 to mark two hundred years since the town was founded. The three wings stand for the three continents the Seychellois people came from: Africa, Asia and Europe.
It is the one piece of public sculpture here that says something, and for an Indian visitor the second of those three wings is not an abstraction.
How to spend the morning
Park or get dropped near the market before eight. Half an hour in the market. Ten minutes on Albert Street and past the clock tower. Fifteen minutes at the temple. An hour in the botanical gardens if you have children. Coffee, and out by eleven.
That is Victoria, done properly, and it is the only part of a Seychelles holiday that has to happen early. Everything else can wait for the afternoon.
Victoria in a day, in six frames.
Photographs, under Creative Commons: A.Savin, FAL Radosław Botev, CC0 Lindeby, CC BY-SA 4.0 Marek Gehrmann, CC BY-SA 3.0 Sarvesh Lutchmun, CC BY-SA 4.0 Vasilii Martynov, CC0
What people ask.
Is Victoria worth visiting?
Yes, for a morning. It is one of the smallest capitals in the world and the centre walks in an hour, but the market, the temple, the clock tower and the botanical gardens are all worth the time if you go early.
What time does the Victoria market open?
Early, and it is at its best before nine. The fish goes by late morning and most stalls pack up in the early afternoon. On Sunday it barely opens.
Is there a Hindu temple in Seychelles?
Yes, one. The Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar temple stands on Quincy Street in Victoria and was built in 1992. It is a working temple serving a community that has been on these islands since the first settlement in 1770.
What is there to do in Victoria with children?
The botanical gardens, which have coco de mer palms, giant tortoises, fruit bats and shade, and are a short walk south of the centre. It is the best hour in the capital for a family.
How long do you need in Victoria?
Two to three hours, all of it in the morning. Half an hour in the market, ten minutes on Albert Street, fifteen at the temple and an hour in the gardens.
Can you walk around Victoria?
Easily. The whole centre is walkable in an hour and everything named on this page is within ten minutes of the clock tower except the botanical gardens, which are a short walk further south.
The market is worth a car, at eight in the morning
Tell us where you are staying and Meera will have the car at the door, so that you reach the market while the fish is still on the slab.