Worth getting out of bed for
Highlights the best the Seychelles has to offer, from art and culture to fun-packed activities; we’ve even found the most inspiring place to enjoy the views from.
- Viewpoint
- Survey the seas and surrounding islands, as pirate lookouts must once have done, from the mountain peaks in Mahé’s Morne Seychellois National Park.
- Arts and culture
- Artists have always been drawn to the Seychelles and you will find a smattering of galleries, usually in the home of the artist, throughout the islands. Try Christy’s Art Gallery on Quincy Street, Victoria, on Mahé or Café des Arts on Côte d’Or, Praslin (+248 232170; www.cafe.sc), for colourful Seychellois scenes and beautiful, sinuous wooden sculpture. The Seychelles Natural History Museum, Avenue 5 June, Victoria, Mahé (+248 321333), has exhibits on the Seychelles’ various ecosystems, and the Victoria Botanical Gardens is home to around 500 species of exotic indigenous plants.
- Something for nothing
- Far more exciting than the fish counter at your local Tesco, La Passe fish market on La Digue is as much of a spectacle as it is a chance to stock up on lobsters, shark and eels. It bustles with fishermen, straight off their boats, and offers perhaps the finest people- and seafood-watching opportunities in the Seychelles.
- Shopping
- People don’t really come to the Seychelles to shop, but that’s not to say that the odd boutique – mainly incorporated into the archipelago’s many luxury resorts – doesn’t exist. Mahé is the largest island, so offers most of the region’s retail opportunities. In Victoria, the Seypot Factory Co-op is great for local ceramics, while the Selwyn-Clarke market is the place to head to for silks, sarongs and sandals.
- Best beach
- Most beaches in the Seychelles are ridiculously beautiful, but it is generally agreed that the sands of Praslin are wider and longer than those on the other islands. Anse Lazio, sheltered by large rocks at either end, and shaded by takamaka and coconut palms, is just about as good as it gets.
- Activities
- Being just 455sq km of land in the midst of a vast ocean, the Seychelles are unsurprisingly one of the best places on earth for watersports. Almost all resorts on the island, including Maia Luxury Resort & Spa and Frégate Island Private, offer everything from windsurfing and canoeing to diving and fishing. The islands, which harbour some of the world’s rarest plant and animal species, have also put themselves at the forefront of the eco-tourism movement. Visitors are encouraged to experience the flora and fauna first-hand, and excursions that involve everything from bird-watching to helping nesting turtles.
- And...
- Traditional music, including ‘seggae’, a blend of Mauritian sega and Caribbean reggae, is popular on the islands, and can be heard in plenty of bars and restaurants outside the luxury resorts.
Diary
April The Seychelles National Fishing Competition is an explosion of friendly rivalry, as fishermen – and tourists – from all over the islands compete to discover who can find the biggest fish to fry. 29 June Independence day sees a procession of floats, and celebrations aplenty, in the capital Victoria. The Festival Kreol, which takes place in the last week of October, is probably the biggest event in the islands’ calendar, celebrating, through food, art and performance, the ethnic diversity of the archipelago. November SUBIOS, the Indian Ocean Festival of Underwater Images, is when the world’s diving experts come to the hotels of Mahé and Praslin to give talks and screen sub-aquatic delights.
