Madagascar: Antananarivo – City Center

Antananarivo, commonly referred to as Tana, is the capital of the country, sitting right in the middle in the mountainous and hilly central highlands. The city has two old parts – upper and lower town. The upper town has Queen’s Palace and a few historic museums, while the lower has broad palm-fringed avenues with more historic buildings and monuments. Independence Avenue (Avenue de l’Indépendance) is the main thoroughfare lined with colonial-era buildings. There is also Lake Anosy, a man-made lake in the heart of the city, famous for its jacaranda trees. It is home to a war memorial dedicated to Malagasy soldiers who fought for France during WWI. Tana is hectic, not particularly safe, and packed with old beige French-car taxies.