Cap-Francais - Haiti Observer Blog

Cap Haitien is one of the most beautiful cities in Haiti. Affronting a bay on the north coast, it is filled with French Colonial buildings, reminiscent of New Orleans in its early days. When Haiti was a protectorate under the French, Cap Haitien was known as Cap Parisien, the Paris of the West.

Hugo Chavez International Airport (HCIA) serves Cap Haitien with flight service supplied by IBC Air, Tortug' Air, Sky King, Turks and Caicos Air, and Pineapple Air. Although HCIA is tiny and offers few amenities, it is being renovated.

Plenty to do and see awaits tourists in the city center. For the best dining experience go to Lakay where they serve authentic Haitian cuisine and French menu items. Visitors, who are planning a stay-over, a range of hotels at varying price levels are available, among them Hostellerie du Roi Christophe, Hotel Mont Joli, and Auberge du Picolet. Cap Haitien is a great walking city, but if you need to travel longer distances you can hail a taxi or a tap-tap.

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Cap-Haitian also known formerly as le Cap, Cap-Henri and Cap-Francais is located on Haiti's northern coast. It is the capital of the Department of Nord and is located near Milot, a historic town. It has around 190,000 inhabitants with indigenous migrants from South and Central America. During the colonial rule it was an important city where it served as the capital of the French Colony of Saint Dominigue from 1711 to 1770.

Anti Government And Revolutionary Movements

The capital was moved to Port-au-Prince. Initially, under the rule of King Henri Christophe, it was Kingdom of Northern Haiti's first capital. Infrastructure for transportation was not very good during that time. The city was destroyed by the 7th May 1842 earthquake.

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