Stone Town is the old quarter of Zanzibar City and the cultural centre of the archipelago. Built from coral stone through the 19th and 20th centuries, it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 for the way Swahili, Arab, Indian and European building traditions sit together in one place.
The lanes are too narrow for cars, so the town is walked rather than driven. Within a few minutes you pass mosques, an Anglican cathedral built on the site of the former slave market, Hindu temples, the Old Fort, the House of Wonders and the seafront palaces of the Omani sultans. Darajani market runs all day, selling fish, fruit, spice and everything else the town needs.
Stone Town is also where the island’s stories live. Princess Salme grew up in the Sultan’s palace before leaving for Germany and writing her memoirs. Farrokh Bulsara was born a few streets away and became Freddie Mercury. The Swahili taarab singer Bi Kidude performed here into her nineties.
The town is not a beach destination. Most visitors stay one or two nights at the start or end of a trip, or come in for a day from the coast. Either works.