Cidade Velha
Cidade Velha, once Ribeira Grande is a city 15 km east of the capital Praia and is famous for being the first place in the Archipelago declared a Unesco World Heritage Site. Cidade Velha was a very important hub for trade with the Americas between 1500 and 1700. For this reason in the city it is possible to visit the oldest colonial church in the world (built in 1495) and Forte Real de Sao Filipe, a massive fortress built in 1590 after the repeated attacks of the English corsair Francis Drake