Zanzibar — Stone Town

Stone Town is the historic heart of Zanzibar and a UNESCO World Heritage Site — a labyrinth of narrow alleys, coral-stone houses and carved wooden doors that tells the layered story of the Swahili coast. For centuries the centre of the Indian Ocean trade in spices and ivory, it is a unique fusion of African, Arab, Persian, Indian and European influence, seen in its mosques and bazaars, the Old Fort and the House of Wonders, and the bustling waterfront where dhows still sail at sunset. It is a place to wander rather than rush: getting pleasantly lost in the maze, browsing the night market at Forodhani Gardens, touring a spice farm, and visiting the poignant former slave market. Atmospheric and endlessly photogenic, Stone Town is the cultural counterpoint to the island’s beaches and the ideal first or last stop on Zanzibar.