A walk down the green

Colombo is a city of tangible contrasts that, unusually for a capital, has no real focal point, no district that could be called the hub. The colonial splendour of Cinnamon Gardens, full of imposing colonial housing and discreet private clubs, is minutes away from the bargain shopping area of Pettah, a sprawling mass of frenetic activity, where the yells of market vendors compete with the hum and beep of traffic.

Galle Face Green, a half-kilometre strip of turf along the southern seafront of Colombo, is as close as the city comes to having a hub. It started life as a golf course (the modern Royal Colombo Golf Club is ten minutes away in Rajagiryiya), when it was considerably larger, and now perfectly encapsulates the past, present and future of Colombo.

On the southern end sits the Galle Face Hotel, a monument of the British colonial era, during which Colombo thrived. The hotel retains the aura of leisurely days gone by, but has had constant renovations over the years and so has not become a relic. The back garden, open to non-residents, faces due west and is a stunning place from where to watch the sun sink into the Indian Ocean, in surroundings that essentially have not changed since Queen Victoria's day.

The seafront along the green is dotted with cannons, a reminder of Sri Lanka's past: colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and British, and then gripped by ethnic tensions that boiled over into a 27-year civil war. While Mahela Jayawardene's men were being flayed by Adam Gilchrist in the 2007 World Cup final, the residents of Colombo were facing the trauma of a night air attack from LTTE fighter jets. With peace restored, though, Colombo is an eminently safe city to visit.

At the northern tip of the green is the towering World Trade Center, which dominates the low-rise Colombo skyline and is home to many of Sri Lanka's leading companies. Opposite is the newly opened Colombo Courtyard, a tasteful collection of shops and restaurants, including the Ministry of Crab, Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara's foray into the world of dining.

Immediately to the east, across an arm of the Beira Lake, is Slave Island, where the Portuguese bought and sold African slaves in the 17th century. It is not actually an island but a humming little district of discreet shops and ramshackle streets, home to the little known but well-worth-visiting Dutch Period Museum, just round the corner from the railway station. A mosque, Hindu and Buddhist temples, and Catholic and Anglican churches can be found in Slave Island, offering a glimpse of the ethnic diversity that helps give Colombo its vitality.

The green itself is where major events in the Sri Lankan calendar, such as the Sinhalese New Year and Vesak are celebrated publicly. The roads in the area are gridlocked at these times. Also busy are weekends: Galle Face Green is where hundreds of Sri Lankans come to relax and enjoy themselves. Courting couples sit under umbrellas along the paved promenade and hordes of out-of-towners descend to take in the space and the cooling sea breeze.

A lot of colour is provided by kites, something of an obsession in the country. For those wishing to have a go, Slave Island is full of shops selling them.

Numerous little makeshift refreshment shops scatter the seafront, serving Lankan delicacies that often taste nicer than they look. Isso waddes, little prawn fritters, are recommended. Be warned about the pineapple slices on offer, though - the syrupy liquid the vendors pour on the fruit looks like honey but is, in fact, a mixture of salt and chili powder. Rather like marmite in the west: you will love it or hate it.

The green has no shade, and for those strolling on a sunny day, taking a leaf out of the locals' book and carrying an umbrella is well advised. It can become seriously hot, and you develop a new appreciation for what cricketers have to go through, playing cricket in Sri Lanka. The Galle Face Hotel's coffee shop has an excellent collection of pictures of 19th century British colonials, marching around the green in suits, sometimes three-piece, that makes you question their sanity.

If you're looking to cool off, the sea is not safe to swim in, but the green is surrounded by top-end hotels that allow non-residents to use their pool for a small fee.

There is cricket, of course. Games ranging from a father throwing a ball to his young son, to large gatherings, often more than one, jostling for space and trying to avoid the ever-looming finality of the last ball to sea, will be for many cricket lovers the abiding memory of a visit to Colombo.