2024

THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Street square and neighborhood to visit

The life of the city is organized around several districts. Each of these centers is quite distant from each other. But the walk is pleasant: Fianar is green, with many trees; the streets are quite calm (except in the center) and wide.

We begin the walk by the "lower city", the surroundings of the railway station, before going up the street lined with counters and stores painted in pink ochre, blue ochre, red ochre. The station square is the meeting place of the gemstone merchants where the companies' buyers come to buy their supplies in the morning, at least when the train is running.

Going up, we will reach the "middle city": the surroundings of the market (zoma), the avenue that starts from the city hall and the surrounding streets where we will admire some beautiful examples of colonial architecture.

We will then go to the "upper city", which houses the oldest Christian church in the city. The upper town is magical at the end of the day (amber colors on the surroundings from the different viewpoints). Some routes are signposted in these alleys flanked by superb century-old buildings. You can also stay there (rehabilitated houses), but be careful, you have to climb a lot.

The climb, on foot or by car, to the belvedere (on the right of the square at the foot of the upper town), allows you to discover the panorama from the highest point of the town. The town, nestled between valleys and rice fields, stretches against a backdrop of mountains and wooded hills. Nice pictures in perspective!

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 Fianarantsoa