Pro

Huge city, impressively spread over several hills
Con

...
In a nutshell

Pittoresque setting, nicely chaotic city. A city where not to rush in... seize the atmosphere, get lost but keep some common sense
Moseying around the main market
CatherineReichardt Says: Markets are just the best place for people watching, and they attract me like a magnet!The main market in Tana is no exception. This replaced the massive Zoma market (which was apparently the second largest open air market in the world - doesn't it really annoy you when you...
Encounter the exotic locals at Madagascar Exotic!
CatherineReichardt Says: Madagascar Exotic (also known as Réserve Peyrieras after its founder, M. Peyrieras) is a wildlife centre founded by a prominent Malagasy naturalist off the main road between Tana and Andisabe. It offers visitors the opportunity to enter enclosures with a bewildering array of...
Synergies between brickmaking and rice cultivation
CatherineReichardt Says: Like every other town on the High Plateau, Tana is surrounded by paddy fields in which the staple starch - rice - is grown. This is a beautiful aspect of the landscape, as the startling emerald green of the young rice contrasts beautifully with the rich red of the soil and...
CatherineReichardt Says: Ambohimanga is a royal palace perched atop one of the hills surrounding Tana, and was the summer retreat for the monarchy. I confess that I really didn't know what to expect of it - somehow the guide books didn't manage to convey a strong sense of what it might be like. In...
1 Review and 11 Opinions Résidence Lapasoa Isoraka BP 3650 Antananarivo Tél :22 611 40. 180.000 FMG Beautiful colonial...
La Boussole Art Cafe: Wonderful ambience and great food
CatherineReichardt Says: La Boussole is located up on the ridge in Isaraka, and is apparently a Tana institution.The restaurant is well laid out with a large bar area, a separate dining room and a central courtyard, which is flanked by a conservatory area on one side. In addition to the...
explore_discover Says: Avoid the Taxi booking counter inside the arrival hall they have fixed fares Ar 40,000, walk out to the parking lot and get the taxi from there for Ar 20,000 ~25,000 to anywhere in Central Tana there will be many taxis standing (beige color with TAXI sign on the roof)
Shoprite: Everything you'll need to stock up on!
CatherineReichardt Says: The big Shoprite supermarket in the centre of Tana is the ideal 'one stop shop' to stock up at either before you head out on your travels, or to buy last minute comestible goodies before you fly home. It stocks a wide range of groceries, toiletries and alcohol at what seemed...
Top of the steps from the Haute Ville: What to buy for the kids at home?
CatherineReichardt Says: Wondering what to buy the kids at home, when you don't have space for a cuddly lemur in your baggage?Look no further than the top of the steps from the Haute Ville, where there are a few men selling wooden stamps. You select from a wide range of metal patterns with...
Tips on surviving the terrible Tana traffic ...
CatherineReichardt Says: Nothing will prepare you for the disaster that is the Tana road network in daylight hours!Like most cities, the Tana road network was simply not designed in anticipation of the weight of traffic that it is expected to carry. The narrow streets, hilly topography, the lack of...
AGGRESSIVE SELLERS AND BEGGARS
DAO Says: Prepare yourself. If you walk in the Avenue de L’independance area you will be mobbed. Aggressive sellers will offer you: Cigarettes, sweets, vanilla, postcards, CD’s, DVD’s, newspapers and tourist souvenirs. They will follow you and swarm in groups. The majority of them are...
DAO Says: Just to confirm that Taxi Drivers are dishonest bastards and scum of the earth – they are waiting for you when you get off the plane. They have organised ‘Official’ Taxi Rates on laminated cards. This is completely untrue, a criminal enterprise and a practice that is the...
Things that may make a big difference to your stay
CatherineReichardt Says: We travel with hard shell suitcases that have combination and key locks, as these are harder (but not impossible) for thieves to raid as you're passing through airports (a huge problem throughout Africa, including South Africa). They are also useful if you are going to leave...
Norali Says: My first hours in Tana streets during my visit in Feb-March. 2005 were a bit of a shock.The city has changed, spruced up, cleaned. The buildings on Araben'ny Fahaleovantena (Avenue de l'Indépendance) had been restored and painted in their initial beige, crème and ochre...
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Plan a Antananarivo vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and Antananarivo locals

Antananarivo, my birthplace - Tana, my first home - So you made it to my Antananarivo page. Welcome then ! Where to start... maybe I'd simply comment my picture, first... then broaden, broaden.. to deliver you my impressions, likes and dislikes of my...
18 members live in Antananarivo
Q: What is the best transport option from Antananarivo airport?

A: To go where?...the information you need *may* vary on where or how far and even at what time you wish to travel...can we know more in order to help you?
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Antananarivo, my birthplace - Tana, my first home

So you made it to my Antananarivo page. Welcome then ! Where to start... maybe I'd simply comment my picture, first... then broaden, broaden.. to deliver you my impressions, likes and dislikes of my...
2
Tana was an unexpected delight!

When we were researching our Madagascar trip, we got a pretty good idea from the guidebooks and websites of what we thought that the highlights would be, but really didn't get a sense of what to...
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BET YOU CAN'T SAY IT 3 TIMES REALLY FAST !

I've got some interesting experiences in Antananarivo. I'd love to share with you the 13 tips I've written, the 106 photos uploaded, and 2 travelogues I've created.
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Three weeks in the highlands of Madagascar

We spent two weeks in Tana, a group of 14, most working in hospitals. It is a great city for walking in the daytime, and you will be pestered by street vendors, but nothing threatening. There are...
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I always felt a bit overrated by the Top 5 for my antananarivo-page, I now did some research to give you more detailed informations about this fascinating city: Antananarivo formerly TANANARIVE, town...
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