Maison Gallieni

the best small hotel in the capital

Maison Gallieni is located in the Antananarivo area of central Madagascar.

Set in an elevated position, a few hundred metres from the famous Faravohitra Cathedral, Maison Galliéni is an original 1879 mansion which has been converted into a high quality bed-and-breakfast hotel.

On the ground floor there is a reception, a library, an outdoor lounge and a small garden with a heated swimming pool.

On the first floor there is an elegant lounge with a fireplace for cooler evenings, a dining room and a verandah with views out over the city.

Rooms

Guest accommodation at Maison Galliéni is in just four bedrooms, three on the ground floor and one on the first floor, all of which have air-conditioning …

• Monaco : On the ground floor and opens out onto the swimming pool area.
• Tana : On the ground floor and has a big sunny bathroom.
• Fara : On the ground floor at the back of the house and opens out onto the garden.
• Galliéni : On the first floor, a large room with extensive views over the old town and featuring a nice big bathroom.

Activities

Maison Galliéni provides access to the following activities …

• City tours
• Local markets
• Bars and restaurants

With the exception of a few beach-focused trips which fly in and out of the airport at Nosy Be, all other trips to Madagascar pass through the capital, Antananarivo, usually more than once and usually with an overnight stop on more than one occasion.

Seasonality

The best time to visit Antananarivo is generally considered to be during the May-Sep cool dry season.

The town is situated at an altitude of around 1200m/3950’ (which makes it the highest capital of any island nation) and experiences a subtropical highland climate.

The May-Sep period represents the cool dry winter season, with peak daytime temperatures around 21C/70F and nighttime temperatures usually holding up around 10C/50F. Rainfall is light and occasional.

The Nov-Mar period represents a warmer wetter summer season, with peak daytime temperatures around 26C/79F and nighttime temperatures being relatively high at 17C/63F. Rain can be quite high during this season, particularly Nov-Mar, peaking at around 300mm/12” per month in Dec-Jan (which is a lot).

Getting there

Antananarivo is the main transport hub for Madagascar.

The city is home to Ivato International Airport, which also serves as the main domestic airport hub and is located around 12 km northeast of the city centre.

The main international flight routings into Tana are from Paris, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Johannesburg.

The main problem with visiting Tana is the traffic. Once you are up in the higher elevations of the old town, it tends to be less of an issue, but in the sprawling suburbs the roads are often extremely snarled up.

Getting between the airport and the old town should take twenty minutes with a clear run, but is more likely to be 1-2 hours given the traffic.

trips often include multiple stopovers in Tana