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Galle is an old fort and an even older port on the very southwestern shore of Sri Lanka. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive here in 1505. But it was only when the Dutch arrived and took over in 1640 that the fort was built and Galle became a key port in the trade between Europe and Asia.

These days Galle Fort has been taken over by tourists. It's a Unesco World Heritage Site and the old Dutch buildings are now home to cafes, hotels, spas, arts and crafts shops, museums and the like. It's not very big and it's lovely of an evening to walk along the ramparts as the sun sets.