The capital of Sao Tomé and Principe, Sao Tome, is by far the country’s biggest city. Its name means “Saint Thomas” in Portuguese.

The presidential palace, the church, and a cinema are among the town’s attractions. Schools, middle schools, high schools, one polytechnic, two markets, three radio stations, the public television station TVSP, several clinics and hospitals, the country’s main airport – So Tomé International Airport (with direct regular scheduled flights to Angola, Gabon, and Portugal, as well as occasional domestic flights to Prncipe), and many squares (praças) are also located in the city.

Sao Tome – Info Card

History of Sao Tome

Alvaro Caminha established São Tomé in 1493. The Portuguese arrived at So Tomé in pursuit of sugarcane land. Before the advent of the Portuguese in 1470, the island was uninhabited. So Tomé was close on the equator, and it was damp enough for sugar cane to grow wild.

Its closeness to the African Kingdom of Kongo offered a supply of slave labor for the sugar plantations in the future.

The city of Sao Tomé is built around a sixteenth-century cathedral. Fort So Sebastio, which was completed in 1575 and is now the So Tomé National Museum, is another early structure.

The city and the islands were seized by the Dutch for two days in 1599, then again for a year in 1641. It was the capital of the Portuguese colony of Sao Tomé and Principe, and since 1975, the capital of the independent country of Sao Tomé and Principe.

Climate of Sao Tome

The climate of Sao Tomé is tropical wet and dry, with a long rainy season and a short dry season.

The rainy season lasts from October to May, while the dry season lasts for the next four months.

The city’s temperatures are quite consistent, with average highs of 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) and average lows of 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit).

Geography of Sao Tome

Situated in Ana Chaves Bay in the northeast of S. Tomé Island, S. Tomé is an important port, and Ilhéu das Cabras is situated adjacent offshore. So Tomé lies northwest of Santana, northeast of Trindade, and southeast of Guadalupe. It is connected to these settlements by a number of roads, the most important of which is the highway that circles the whole island of So Tomé. A weekly boat connects it to Cape Verde.