The main reason most visitors come to Cap-Haïtien is to reach the Citadelle Laferrière and Sans-Souci Palace at Milot — a UNESCO World Heritage Site about an hour south — but the city itself has more to offer than a transit stop. The colonial street grid of the old town, the cathedral, and the nearby beaches make it worth a full day or two. The Vertières monument, where the final battle of the Haitian Revolution was fought in 1803, is 3 kilometres from the city centre.
Cap-Haïtien has a reputation for being more relaxed and safer than Port-au-Prince, and the local arts scene — painters, sculptors, craftspeople — is worth seeking out in the galleries and workshops around the old town.