Located at an altitude of 1,470 m, Zimbabwe's capital city has all the characteristics of a modern city: buildings with glass facades, entire shopping streets, business districts for men in suits and ties, wide avenues bottled during rush hour, large green parks... Harare has all the necessary tourist infrastructure..: accommodation of all categories (including very large 5-star hotels), restaurants, pubs, cinemas but also sports centres, golf courses, racecourses, swimming pools, museums and art galleries. Despite its large number of upscale and quiet districts, Harare is not without a certain atmosphere and a touch of local colour. A multitude of street vendors brighten up the city, with fruit, candy or trinkets of all kinds crowding the sidewalks and intersections. This specificity and a large, laughing and noisy crowd give the feeling of life, colour and disorder that is characteristic of the great African metropolises. If Harare does not attract as many tourists as the Victoria Falls, it is nevertheless a pleasant place to stay, especially for art and sculpture lovers, where you can shop in the beautiful souvenir shops. Interesting excursions are also possible in the surroundings.History. The site currently occupied by Harare was originally (19th century) the capital of several successive tribal chiefs, including the famous Mbare, the name currently given to one of the city's most popular and colourful districts. At the end of the 19th century, settlers took control of the area and dislodged the natives with weapons. In 1890, the pioneers of the British South Africa Company arrived on the scene, under the leadership of Major Frank Johnson and Colonel Edward Pennefather. Once the land was considered fertile enough and the location ideal, they decided to build a fort on it, which they named Salisbury, in honour of the British Prime Minister of the time. Very quickly, other settlers arrived from the south, attracted by the gold concessions located near the Zambezi River. Farmers began to exploit the surrounding land, forcing Africans to move out of the colony (nowadays, Chitungwiza, the most densely populated suburb, is located away from the city centre). In 1923, some twenty years after the railway from Bulawayo to present-day Harare had been put in place, Salisbury was declared the capital of the colony. Industries began to establish themselves there and the city flourished for several decades. During the War of Independence, business experienced some recession and resumed when Zimbabweans won their case in 1980. On the second anniversary of independence, the capital of Zimbabwe's newest republic, Salisbury was renamed Harare; phonetic distortion of Ne-Harawa, the name of a great Shona chief who ruled the region in the 19th century.

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Ville d'Harare. GeraldMashonga - iStockphoto.com
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