Port-au-Prince city, located in the central Haiti, is the capital of the country. It is the principal seaport and commercial center of Haiti. Major manufactures include processed food, beverages, tobacco products, textiles, and building materials. Tourism and construction are also important to the city's economy.
Port-au-Prince is a vibrant city where the life never stops. During the day, it vibrates under the sun, at night it glitters under the glow of thousands lamps of street vendors. Discover Port-au-Prince on Port-au-Prince vacations . The city will captivate you with the intensity of its daily life and the warmth of its people.
On Port-au-Prince vacations you will see the tap-taps, the famous colorful and artistic tour buses are all over the town. The tap-taps congregate in front of the Marche en fer (Iron Market) or Marche Vallieres a most unusual building. Imagine a mosque built of steel, complete with minaret, painted in red and green in the midst of a Caribbean City. Today the Iron Market overflows with a busy and noisy population.
To enter the market you have to go through a crowd of street vendors that will try to sell you a wide variety of merchandise. The Iron Market offers a variety of treasures such as paintings, mahogany tableware, baskets, hats, wood sculptures, the famous steel crafts. It is the custom in Haiti to bargain with vendors on the price of their good and art. Generally you can get what you want at a low price.
In Port-au-Prince the main attractions are: The Haitian National Palace, The Cathedral of Port-au-Prince, The Cathedral of St. Trinity, Musee du Pantheon, Place des Heros de Independence, In Boutilliers, the attraction is the Jane Barbancourt Distillery. In the Cate des Arcadins the attraction is the Moulin sur Mer.
There are few things you should remember before going on Port-au-Prince vacations. The city is very poor, but at the same time it is very expensive. You can find anything but at very high prices. The country produces almost nothing and imports a lot from the United States. During your Port-au-Prince vacations you can stay in Port-au-Prince hotel. The most popular ones are: Hotel Montana, Kaliko Beach Club, La Villa Creole, Le Plaza. But you can also rent a house. The houses are expensive (starting from 2,000 USD up) and do not always correspond to the quality of the houses.
Concerning night life in Port -au-Prince, there are very scarce cultural activities and mainly organized by the different embassies or solidarity groups. More frequent cultural activities during the carnival, but sometimes it is difficult to attend due to security reasons. Social and night life very poor, people usually meet at home.
In reality, it is very insecurity in Port -au-Prince. It is not suggested to travel by car alone (especially women) during day and night. No one should travel by car after 6 at night and before 7 in the morning. It is most important to avoid the central areas, the outskirts, exception made for Petion Ville, and the secondary streets, if you do not have a good driver or are not known in the area.