Overview
Take a trip to Antananarivo on your Madagascar Vacation
When travelling on a Madagascar vacation, situated inland, about 145 km (90 mi) from Madagascar’s east coast Antananarivo, the country’s capital and its largest city. Unlike many other capitals found in southern Africa, Antananarivo was already considered a major city before colonialism reached Madagascar.
Antananarivo was founded in the early 1600s and earned the name “The City of the Thousand” from the number of soldiers that were assigned to guard it. The city was captured by the French in 1895 bringing it into France’s Madagascar protectorate. When Madagascar achieved independence in 1960, Antananarivo remained the capital city and began to grow at a rapid pace.
Today, Antananarivo serves as Madagascar’s administrative, communications and economic centre and is divided into three different levels that are linked by stairways. First, there is the Downtown area that features the Avenue de l’Indéndence, a broad shopping centre with a market at the upper end. Next is the “Plateau du Colbert” located in the middle of the cliffs, and finally, the old city in the upper town where palaces, cathedrals and many ancient noble families are found on a Madagascar vacation.
Antananarivo is a unique city offering equally unique architecture. It is not uncommon to see a blend of wooden houses and modern office buildings as well as structures built in a traditional French colonial style. The best way to experience this capital city is on foot allowing for opportunities to visit markets and to see the sights when travelling to Madagascar.
Antananarivo is a unique city offering equally unique architecture. It is not uncommon to see a blend of wooden houses and modern office buildings as well as structures built in a traditional French colonial style. The best way to experience this capital city is on foot allowing for opportunities to visit markets and to see the sights when travelling to Madagascar.
At a Glance
Languages
French, MalagasyCurrency
Malagasy Ariary (MGA)What do the experts say?
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antananarivo vacation packages
View of the Presidential Palace makes for a gre...
Panoramic view of Antananarivo
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Place
Conditions
Daily max temperatureMonthly rainfall
AntananarivoMostly Sunny
26°C / 78°F
11mm / 0.4"
Weather data is based on monthly averages.Popularity rating
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ExcellentBased on 5,191 ReviewsShalini at Goway Travel was super helpful arranging our dream trip to Greece. We suggested locations and sights we wanted to see and she modified the trip perfectly for us. Working with local guides, securing transfers and accommodations as needed. Great hotels, private transfers, perfect locations, and she listened to all of our "wants" to make sure our trip was truly customized. Made for an amazing trip!Lorena BarettaEasy to work with . The reservationist gave me several options in a timely manner.Rita AllenWe used Goway on our 32 day vacation to New Zealand and Australia. The person I worked with on planning the vacation was really helpful. The way they let you plan a vacation allows for lots of flexibility. You don't have to go with one tour the whole time. We saw a lot and they tailored it to what we were interested in. All the hotels were great and in good locations. Most of the tours were good but we would have preferred to spend a little more time exploring on our own in Sydney. The only thing we were not happy with is the customer service while we were there. Hard to get a hold of and some of the instructions were not clear/ accurate. That was a little stressful. Good value for the money. Dawn Krafft HawkinsWe travelled to Morocco for 10 days, 9 nights, booked through GoWay- they used an excellent local tour company- Cynab. GoWay booked our flights with a stopover Paris, so we did a weekend on our own with family, then transfer to Morocco. Because dates of small group tours didn't work, we booked a private tour for 2, and it wasn't much different in price from small group. Everything went smoothly from start to finish. We were picked up in Casablanca and dropped at Marrakech airport 10 days later with the same driver the whole way. He was a very good driver, always told us what time to expect him next morning and was there like clockwork. Local guides were met along the way for tours of Medinas of Fes, Marrakech and Essouria. The trip was spectacular. Saw many beautiful sites. All the hotels were great- first night at Villa Mandarine in Rabat, with orange trees in the garden, the Oz Palace in Ouarzazate and the Merzouga luxury desert camp were paticularly special. The Jaal Riad in Marrakech was a beautiful hotel and a good one to relax by the pool our last day after our busy travel days. In Fes, the Merides up on a hill was a great respite from the intensity of a day walking through the Fes Medina. NIce to sit on the terrace and watch the sun go down and the lights come up. Although the days were packed, the hotels were always an oases of calm at end of day, and because we didn't need to do any navigating, it was very relaxing. Be prepared to be shown alot of artisan shops- its interesting to see and important to contribute somewhat to the economy, but I sometimes felt a bit pressured to buy, but we ended up with a reasonable amount of souvenirs and not a big cost compared to the trip. Overall a highly memorable trip, we felt very welcome in Morocco, people are very warm and hotel staff treated us royally. We felt very safe and comfortable the whole time. As someone with IBD, I was impressed I had no tummy troubles the whole time. The driver stopped at great places for lunch, and with the private tours in the city we could tell the guide when we wanted to stop and they always suggested a great place. Food was excellent throughout. A tour arranged dinner on a roof top restaurant in Marrakech was particularly special, with a gorgeous sunset and the waiters sang! The meal in the Sahara desert camp was also particularly special. Highly recommend this tripTWHello and Happy Travels.
I have been working with Isabella Luu for
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She has been knowledgeable and helpful answering all questions I and clients have had. The work she put into these trips has shown by the ease of the clients travel.
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He has helped us with multiple Europe travel trips for our clients, and every one of them has gone smoothly. I truly appreciate the reliability, communication, and care Allan provides, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in the future.AphroditeExcellent service! Farnaz did a wonderful job of coordinating detail. She had spot on recommendations and applied our wants and desires into a fantastic tripTommy ThompsonMichael did a great job arranging all our transfers, hotels, trains and tours for our trip to Iceland and Andalucia, Spain. No blips or missed connections and accommodations were easy walking to central cities. Would use Goway again and recommend to our friends.David StoneOur trip to South Africa was a dream come true thanks to Gina our travel consultant.
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Thank you Gina and your colleagues behind the scenes at Goway travel for making our dreams come true!
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