Set to the mellifluous ditties of Cape Verdean Creole and Portuguese morna music, pretty, palm-peppered Mindelo smacks of culture and class from the get go. It can be found painted in cheerful tones of faded aureolin, pink and turquoise, beset by the rufous rises of Sao Vicente’s coastal hills and neatly encircled by one of the nation’s most moneyed yacht harbours (the perfect antithesis to the cruise ships and tankers of bustling Porto Grande just around the headland).

There’s no need to ride unpunctual aluguers around the town here, because Mindelo is pleasantly walkable. This means that travellers eager to lose themselves between the tight-knit streets that run away from Praca Amilcar Cabral—the central hub of the town and a nighttime hotspot where locals gather to gurgle beers on the weekend—can do so easily. Along the way are options for shots of rum grog around Santo Antonio, catchupa stews from the various holes-in-the-wall, or a jaunt along the bubbling harbourside and its sporadic cocktail dives. For those eager to get a taste of the Cape Verdean sand and sea, Mindelo tour guides can also help with excursions to Praia Grande and Sao Pedro, where surfers carve wakes out of the Atlantic waves.