Victoria is the capital and largest city of the

Republic of Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

, situated on the north-eastern side of Mahé, the archipelago's main island. The city was first established as the seat of the

British colonial The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, while not forming p ...

government. In 2010, the population of Greater Victoria (including the suburbs) was 26,450 (26.66%) out of the country's total population of 99,202. The port is known as Port Victoria.

History

The area that would become Victoria was originally settled in 1778 by French colonists after they claimed the island in 1756. The town was called ''L'Établissement'' until 1841 when it was renamed to Victoria by the British, after

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

Economy

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

is an important sector of the economy. The principal exports of Victoria are

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (biology), family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, ...

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

, fish and

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

Education

The Mont Fleuri campus of the

University of Seychelles The University of Seychelles, informally also called UniSey, is the primary institution of higher education in Seychelles. History The university was established on 17 September 2009. There are three campuses: the main campus at Anse Royale, ...

is in Victoria.

Culture

Attractions in the city include a clocktower modelled on Little Ben in London, the courthouse, the

Botanical Gardens A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

, the

National Museum of History The National Museum of History (NMH; ) is located in the Nanhai Academy in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. After the Republic of China government moved to Taiwan, the National Museum of History was the first museum to be established in Tai ...

, the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history scientific collection, collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, Fungus, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleo ...

and the Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke Market. Victoria Market and the brightly coloured fish and fruit markets is the local hot spot for the Seychellois people.

Places of worship

There are two cathedrals in Victoria, Immaculate Conception Cathedral (

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

) and

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

(

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

). There are also

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

and

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a movement within the broader Evangelical wing of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes direct personal experience of God in Christianity, God through Baptism with the Holy Spirit#Cl ...

churches,J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, "Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices", ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 2591 mosques and

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temples.

Sports

Stade Linité The Stad Linité (official name) is a multi-use stadium in Victoria, Seychelles. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 10,000 and was built in 1992. The stadium plays host also to most of the home games of the Seychel ...

, the national stadium, is in Victoria. It is mostly used for football matches.

Transport

Victoria is served by

Seychelles International Airport Seychelles International Airport , or ''Aéroport de la Pointe Larue'' in French, is the international airport of the Seychelles located on the island of Mahé, Seychelles, Mahé near the capital city of Victoria, Seychelles, Victoria. The airp ...

, completed in 1971. The inner harbour lies immediately east of the town, where tuna fishing and canning is a major industry. One of the largest bridges in Victoria was destroyed by tsunami waves from the

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...

Districts

Four of the

districts of Seychelles Seychelles is divided into 26 districts. All but one are located on the Inner Islands; the Outer Islands (''Zil Elwannyen Sesel'') make up the most recent district. Eight districts make up Greater Victoria, 14 make up the rural part of the ...

are in Victoria: * English River (La Rivière Anglaise), the central district * Saint Louis *

Mont Fleuri Mont Fleuri () is an administrative district of Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) ...

* Bel Air

Twin towns and sister cities

Victoria is twinned with:

Climate

Victoria features a

tropical rainforest climate A tropical rainforest climate or equatorial climate is a tropical climate sub-type usually found within 10 to 15 degrees latitude of the equator. There are some other areas at higher latitudes, such as the coast of southeast Florida, United States ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Af'') with high temperatures throughout the course of the year. The capital does have noticeably wetter and drier periods during the year, with June and July being its driest months and December through February being the city's wettest months. However, since in no month does the average monthly precipitation falls below in Victoria, the city does not have a true

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...

month. This lack of a true dry season month is a primary reason why the climate falls under the tropical rainforest climate category. The capital averages about of rainfall annually. Although being very rainy, skies are usually clear to partly clear and completely cloudy days remain scarce throughout the year even during the rainiest months.

References

External links

* {{Coord, -4.6231, 55.4525, type:city, format=dms, display=title Ports and harbours of the Indian Ocean Capitals in Africa 14th-century establishments in Africa Populated places established in the 14th century