Victoria, Seychelles: things to do in the capital on foot

Victoria is small enough that a slow walk covers most of the things to do in Victoria, from the clock tower to the Botanical Garden. The town had 30,145 people at the 2022 census. French settlers founded it in 1778 as L’Établissement, and the British renamed it after Queen Victoria in 1841.

Most visitors pass through on the way to a hotel or the ferry. Give it a morning instead. Then walk down to the harbour, because the boats to Moyenne Island and the Ste Anne Marine Park leave from the edge of town. Our Mahé map shows the town, the harbour and the islands together.

A half-day walking route

The route below runs from the clock tower out to the Botanical Garden. Allow about three hours with stops, more if you linger in the museum.

1. The Victoria Clock Tower

Start in the middle. The Victoria clock tower went up in 1903, linked to the death of Queen Victoria two years earlier. It copies the 1897 clock on Vauxhall Bridge Road in London, the one often called Little Ben.

It strikes twice on the hour. It stopped in 2019 and was repaired by technicians from the UK.

2. Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market, and where it went

For decades the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market, a few minutes from the clock tower, was the first stop on most Victoria walks, with its fish and fruit stalls at their busiest on Saturdays. It closed for renovation in March 2025, and trading moved to the former STC supermarket building in town, which SeyVillas places on Albert Street. In January 2026 the Seychelles Nation reported that demolition of the old market was due to start by the end of that month.

We could not find a reopening date, and published opening hours for the temporary market disagree, so check locally.

3. The Hindu temple

The Arul Mihu Navasakthi Vinayagar Temple on Quincy Street was built in 1992 and serves Victoria’s Hindu community, around 5,000 people according to SeyVillas.

4. The two cathedrals

Victoria has two cathedrals. St Paul’s, the Anglican cathedral, was consecrated in 1859. The Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception dates from 1892, with its bell tower added in 1898.

5. National Museum of History

The museum moved into the restored 1885 Supreme Court building in 2018. The ground floor covers about 300 years of Seychelles history with model ships, cannons and artefacts. The upper floor is about Creole culture. It is the best hour you can spend in town if the weather turns. We could not confirm current opening hours, so check before you go.

6. The Bicentennial Monument

At the eastern end of Independence Avenue stands a white sculpture of outstretched wings. The Italian artist Lorenzo Appiani made it in 1978 for Victoria’s 200th anniversary. Its three pairs of wings stand for Africa, Europe and Asia, the continents the Seychellois population came from.

7. The Botanical Garden and its tortoises

Finish at the National Botanical Garden at Mont Fleuri, about 20 minutes’ walk from the centre. Mauritian agronomist Rivalz Dupont founded it in 1901. Its tortoise enclosure holds Aldabra giant tortoises you can feed. The coco de mer palms are worth a look too, including one the Duke of Edinburgh planted in 1956. Watch for the endemic blue pigeon and Seychelles bulbul in the trees.

SPGA lists the entry fee at Rs 250 for non-residents and opening from 8am daily.

Two more stops if you have time

Kenwyn House, a French colonial building in the centre, holds a souvenir shop and a gallery of Seychellois paintings, according to SeyVillas.

The Natural History Museum on Independence Avenue was listed by SeyVillas as closed for renovation. We could not find a reopening date, so do not plan around it.

A day in Victoria, start to finish

A plan that works for most people: do the walking route above from about 8am, while it is cooler, and finish at the Botanical Garden before lunch. In the afternoon, either drive up the Sans Souci road for the views, or book a half-day boat into the marine park from the harbour or Eden Island. If you only have one full day on Mahé, put the boat first and Victoria second. The town will still be there at 4pm, but Moyenne can only be reached on a boat that keeps its own timetable.

Victoria’s harbour: the way out to Moyenne

Victoria is where the Ste Anne Marine Park trips start. Operators list two departure points in town, the Marine Charter area and the Inter-Island Quay, and other boats leave from Eden Island Marina just to the south. The ride out takes about 10 minutes.

The Ste Anne Marine National Park has six islands. Moyenne is the one most tours land on for its own sake. Brendon Grimshaw bought it in 1962, planted around 16,000 trees, raised Aldabra giant tortoises there and saw it declared a national park in 2009. You wade ashore and walk a short loop trail past the tortoises, his grave and two graves tied to a local pirate legend.

The marine park fee is Rs 200 per non-resident aged 12 and over (SPGA, checked October 2026), and Moyenne has its own landing fee. Most tours include both. Our how to visit Moyenne guide covers the options.

The Cat Cocos ferry to Praslin and La Digue also leaves from the Inter-Island Quay. See the island-hopping guide for crossing times.

Beyond the centre

Two of Mahé’s best sights are a short drive up the Sans Souci road behind town:

• Copolia trail: about 6 km from Victoria, a 1.2 km climb to a granite summit with pitcher plants and a view straight down over the capital, its harbour and the marine park islands. Rs 100, open 8am to 4pm.
• Mission Lodge: the ruins of Venn’s Town, a school for children of liberated slaves from 1876 to 1889, on UNESCO’s tentative list since 2013.

The rest of the island is in our guide to things to do in Mahé.

Practical notes

• From the airport: about 11 km, roughly 10 minutes by car without traffic.
• Staying in town: our where to stay in Mahé guide covers hotels within walking distance of the centre.
• Money: marine park sites take cards only, and SPGA accepts cash only at its main office.
• Rain plan: the museum and the cathedrals.

If you want someone else to drive, the Mahé customizable private tour with driver lets you pick the Victoria sights, viewpoints and beaches for the day. Our tours page lists every Ste Anne boat we have checked.