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Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien

 

The Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien (MUPANAH) is a museum featuring the heroes of the independence of Haiti and the Haitian history and culture

 The Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien was opened in 1983. This cultural center is to perpetuate and disseminate the memory of "Fathers of the Nation".

One of its main missions is to participate in heritage conservation and dissemination of national culture. The MUPANAH is an institution whose function is the conservation, protection and enhancement of historical and cultural heritage.

 

Petionville

 

Pétionville is a wealthier part of Haiti, in which many multiracial Haitians live. Avenues like Laboule and Morne Calvaire are known for their palatial mansions. There is an extreme, almost feudal divide between rich and poor in Haiti. The gated and privately guarded neighborhoods resemble a Haitian version of Beverly Hills, but with razor wire. Most residents of Pétionville are affluent in comparison with residents of most other parts of the country. Pétionville has more security than the center of Port-au-Prince, and in general, than the other major cities of Haiti. The community is very stable, with nightlife and business conducted with an appearance of western normality, in striking contrast to many other parts of greater Port-au-Prince. 

The hillside suburban town is filled with nightclubs, beauty salons, fitness gyms and French restaurants. Businesses which cater to tourists are commonplace, and parties and get-togethers often take place at night. Establishments often host considerable expatriates and foreigners of a similar calibre.

The famous "El Rancho" hotel is in Pétionville. It was built from the private estate of Albert Silvera, a sports- and luxury car collector who was one of the pioneers of Haiti's hotel industry.

 

 

Marche de Fer Haiti

 

Several of Haiti’s cities have Iron Markets, but the original and best is in central Port-au-Prince. The Marché de Fer is an exuberant and exotic red-metal structure dating from 1889, which looks more akin to something from the Arabian Nights than tropical Haiti. In fact, it was originally destined to be the main hall of Cairo train station (hence its minarets), but when the sale from the Parisian manufacturers fell through, President Florvil Hyppolite snapped it up as part of his plan to modernize Port-au-Prince.

The Iron Market (selling not iron, but food and various other consumer goods) offers a variety of treasures such as paintings, mahogany tableware, baskets, hats, wood sculptures, the famous steel crafts. It is the custom in Haiti to bargain with vendors on the price of their good and art. Generally you can get what you want at a low price.A densely packed market of vendors selling everything from crafts such as voodoo paraphernalia to fresh food such as turtles. It a challenging, stressful, and maddening place to walk through as throngs of desperate merchants grab you and tight huddle of shoppers, stalls, and moving goods impede your every step, requiring you to swim through humanity. You will find a breathtaking inventory of hand crafted art: sculptures, masks, staves, paintings, globes, tea sets, coconut belts, etc.

4 – Barbancourt Rum Distillery

In 1862, Dupré Barbancourt, a native of the Charente region in France, put the finishing touches a recipe for rum that still bears his name today. Using a double distillation method usually reserved for the very finest cognacs, he discovered a rum of incomparable quality that has always received the highest international distinctions.

Dupré Barbancourt left no heir and when he died the company passed to his wife Nathalie Gardere who managed it with the help of her nephew Paul Gardere. When she died, Paul then directed the company`s destiny until 1946. At this time Rhum Barbancourt’s distillery was still located on le Chemin des Dalles in Port au Prince and only produced a limited quantity of rum. The older aged rums being exclusively reserved for family and friends.

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Champ de Mars

 

Port-au-Prince's main park and place of political power with the National Palace, the former Army Headquarters and Dessalines Barracks, the Police Headquarters, the Palace of Ministries, Fiscal Administration Building (DGI) and the French Embassy with statues of the country's founding fathers (Toussaint, Dessalines, Christophe, Pétion, Capois) on the park.