Victoria's Botanical Gardens & Mission Lodge

OVERVIEW

Relax on a lovely drive through Victoria, one the world’s smallest capital cities yet possessed of a great deal of history and charm. You’ll pass captivating sites such as the National Library, the Creole-style old courthouse now converted into a restaurant/cafe, the National Museum and numerous other colonial-era buildings. Discover a silver clock tower erected in 1903 to celebrate the Seychelles becoming an English colony and find it’s a replica of the Vauxhall Clock Tower, located outside London’s VictoExult in Victoria’s enthralling landmarks during this enjoyable tour of the city, botanical gardens and Mission Lodge. ria Station. You’ll appreciate Victoria’s wooden houses, which feature colorful corrugated tin roofs and wrought-iron balconies. Visit the Seychelles National Botanical Gardens and spot giant Aldabra land tortoises, fruit bats and more than 200 species of indigenous flora, including elephant apple trees, octopus trees and double coconut palms, or coco de mer. Enjoy a photo stop at an ideally placed lookout offering wonderful panoramic vistas of Victoria, its port and yacht basin. Conclude your excursion at Mission Lodge, the ruins of a school for children of freed slaves, where you’ll walk among the endemic trees and revel in splendid views of Mahé’s marvelous coast.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Take in enchanting Victoria’s colonial-era buildings, such as the Creole-style old courthouse and the National Museum.
• Gaze at a silver clock tower modelled after the Vauxhall Clock Tower at London’s Victoria Station.
• Admire wooden houses with multi-hued tin roofs and sculptural wrought-iron balconies.
• Roam the National Botanical Gardens to survey giant tortoises and indigenous flora, including the unique double coconut palm.
• Capture stunning photos at a well-placed viewpoint and at Mission Lodge, once a school for children of emancipated slaves.

HELPFUL HINTS

• Dress in weather-appropriate clothing.
• Wear flat comfortable walking shoes.