Rova - Le Palais de la Reine, Antananarivo Province, Madagascar

4Bessiegal 5:00 PM Jan 9, 2014

You do NOT have to have a guide!
This is a small site with a beautiful building on it overlooking the whole of Tana. It is well worth a visit. We were lucky going in December as there were only a handful of guides outside wanting to show us around this tiny site. Many people have had problems with guides here especially the poor woman who gave a guide about 80 euro to show her around. Probably a year's wage for him, thanks! Some guides will tell you a guide is 'obligatoire'. It is NOT. Walk away with a smile. If they, and sometimes there are more than one after you, keep following you either stand still and say "no thank you" firmly but with a smile or tell them you have no money to give them. If you don't speak French keep speaking in English as most of them cannot understand. Please do not be offensive (even though it is very irritating) as this will get you nowhere. It is 10,000 AR each to get into the site which is a measly £3! It says, in English, on the entrance wall that a guide might be useful. If you want to hear about the history of the palace, it did burn down and is now just a shell, then you may like a guide as some are quite knowledgable but please do arrange a price before you set off. Check if the price includes the small entrance fee or not and tip only if you get good service and not because they bully you into it. If the site is very busy and you are a woman alone and this hustling and bustling (literally) worries you then try to find a nice family or English people to go in with. Then when you are inside you can go it alone. The whole site does not take very long. It depends on how many photographs you take of the wonderful views! Enjoy.

4nicholas169 5:00 PM May 7, 2013

Know the queen and her people
I fully underestimated the importance of visiting this derelict building until I returned to Tana after 3 weeks in Madagascar.The palace is on top of a hill with excellent views of the city and even though we suffered the end of their bad rains it was refreshing to be out of the turmoil of the city.We took time to select a guide and after we had he controlled the hassle and spoke well in english about their wicked queen and walked us through the palace which is waiting for the finance to return for renovation as it was stopped when their DJ took power to run their country.There is no need to judge but the people live their lives and the government theirs and there is no doubt that this palace represents how Madagascar has evolved.The queen would roll people off cliffs wrapped in leaves and decapitate.She was cruel and as you travel Madagascar her legacy is still with the people.Below the Rova is the pm,s old house now a museum again waiting to be renovated.We were the only visitors side stepping the plaster that had fallen and smelling the damp.Visit these sites and allow the presence of history to touch you and help create an insight into the people of Madagascar . Even if it does not touch you in the way it did for us then it is a magnificent building with excellent views already showing the quality of work that will be there once the money returns. A good day out to help you adjust to a new country.As a bonus the walk down the hill takes you to haut ville ,the jewellery district and past an excellent pattisserie shop called the royal patisserie.The chocolate cake was truly magnificent. My advice is go and don't judge too harshlyYou may leave disappointed but just allow the building to create part of the story of the people and I believe over time you will like me see the attraction as having immense value.I was moved.