The old colonial quarter of Bissau, a roughly rectangular grid of streets on a slight rise above the waterfront. Bissau Velho contains the city's most intact colonial architecture — two-storey buildings with wide verandas, shuttered windows, and peeling paint in ochre, blue, and green. The streets are quiet, the pace is slow, and the atmosphere is one of elegant decay.
The main sights of the city — the Presidential Palace, the Cathedral, Fort Amura, and the Martyrs' Square — are all within Bissau Velho. An afternoon's walk covers all of them comfortably. The neighbourhood is safe to walk during the day. In the evening the streets largely empty and restaurants near the square are the main social point.