It seems Cape Verde is not a very popular country in this community. It is not surprising since there is only one World Heritage Site and chances for the inscription of the second one (Tarrafal) are vague. But if you do not follow typical beach vacation on Sal or Boa Vista, there is a lot to see and there is a surprising variety of landscapes in this small country. 

Cidade Velha, the only WHS of the country, was the first settlement of the archipelago and the first colonial town south of Sahara. The Portuguese, striving for piety up to exaggeration, built here more churches than secular buildings. Some of them, such as Convent of Sao Francisco, or Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosario (the oldest colonial church in the world) are part of the inscription. The other one – Se Cathedral (again the first colonial cathedral) is nowadays nothing but ruins. All inscribed properties are withing the walking distance and can be convered in a couple of hours. The best preserved is Fort Real of Sao Filipe, a stronghold built on the steepy hill nearby (the pave is very bad and we almost surrendered descending it with baby stroller). 

Cidade Velha lost competition with Praia and now is nothing but a small but nice village, perfect for a half a day trip from the capital. After visiting the inscribed sites it is worth to sit in one of the restaurants in the center, with a sea view from one side, and public pillory (another inscribed site) from the other. 

Cidade Velha is easy to reach with public transport. Aluguers (shared taxis) go frequently from Praia and the price for about an hour trip is something like 2.5 EUR one way. Be careful – aluguers can be extremely crowded, with many more passengers than sits. But it is also part of the fun…