Named after the Portuguese trader Lourenco Marques, the city became alive in the 18th when it was linked by a railroad to Pretoria in South Africa and in 1907 it became the countries capital. It is a vibrant a colourful city full of markets and old colonial buildings interjected with modern office blocks, a maze of hidden treasures. Famous its fresh crab curry and piri piri chicken, it is a great stop off before the islands to sit and people watch.