Must See

Port Au Prince

The capital, home to a million people, is bursting at the seams. Open sewers flow past dilapidated buildings, the brown dirt floor is in sharp contrast to the bright murals on the walls. The Iron Market is the centre of this chaos - stalls, vendors and piles of fruit vie for space among the shoppers.

A calmer atmosphere can be found in the hillside suburb of Petionville, where visitors can enjoy some of the best dining, nightlife and gallery-hopping. Head further up the hill to Boutillier, high in the mountains for some spectacular views over Port-au-Prince and the Gulf of Gonâve.

Other attractions in Port-au-Prince include the Museum of Haitian Art, the neo-romantic cathedral, the Defly Mansion, the Gingerbread Houses and the Statue of the Unknown Slave.

Cap-Haitien

Cap-Haïtien is more laid back, more Latin, than the capital. But then, sandwiched between lush green mountains and pleas-ant beaches, with Spanish-influenced architecture and Cointreau in the air, you might expect it to be. Not far from here, on Christmas Eve 1492, Columbus ran aground on the north coast of Hispaniola. The wreck of his ship the Saint Maria remains near by.

Citadelle

This remarkable mountain fortress took 15 years for Henri Christophe to complete. Balanced at the top of the 900-metre Pic la Ferriere, with views of Cap-Haitien, it was designed to resist French invasions. The ruins of Sans Soucie Palace, modelled on Versailles, lie nearby. A half-hour drive leads to the village of Milot, gateway to the Citadelle and site of the palace ruins.

Jacmel

A town of Victorian elegance and stuccoed palaces, set among magnificent mountain scenery, serves as a centre for voodoo, with a number of intriguing temples to visit. It draws international crowds at Carnival time when dancers in papier maché costumes parade the streets and a host of street theatre performances take place. There are also several beaches in this region.