Cap-Haïtien is near the historic Haitian town of Milot, which lies 19 kilometres (12 mi) to the southwest along a gravel road.

The Citadelle Laferrière, a massive stone fortress bristling with cannons, atop a nearby mountain is eight kilometres (5 mi) away.

[9] The destruction in 2020 of Shada 2[10] (a slum with 1,500 homes in the southern part of the city) was credited with disrupting gang activity in the former capital.

[9] The island was occupied for thousands of years by cultures of indigenous peoples, who had migrated from present-day Central and South America.

[12] In 1670 during the French colonial period, Cap-Haïtien, or Cap-Français as the settlement was then known, was founded by a dozen colonists-adventurers under the command of Bertrand d'Ogeron.

They established large sugar cane plantations on the northern plains and imported tens of thousands of African slaves to work them.

The historic city has numerous markets, churches, and low-rise apartment buildings (of three–four storeys), constructed primarily before and during the U.S. occupation.

The commune consists of three communal sections, namely: Cap-Haïtien is known as the nation's largest center of historic monuments and as such, it is a tourist destination.

The bay, beaches and monuments have made it a resort and vacation destination for Haiti's upper classes, comparable to Pétion-Ville.

During and after the Haitian Revolution, many craftsmen from Cap‑Haïtien, who were free people of color, fled to French-controlled New Orleans as they were under attack by the mostly African slaves.

[citation needed] Since 2021, there have been significant electrical outages in Cap Haïtien, due in large part to a lack of fuel.

[14][15] A power plant built in Caracol to provide electricity to the Industrial Park reaches as far as Limonade 30 minutes from downtown Cap Haïtien.

[15] The walled Labadie (or Labadee) beach resort compound is located ten kilometres (6 mi) to the city's northwest.

The French withdrew their remaining 7,000 troops (many had died from yellow fever and other diseases), and in 1804, Dessalines' revolutionary government declared the independence of Haiti.

The Citadel was built by Henry Christophe, a leader during the Haitian slave rebellion and self-declared King of Northern Haiti, after the country gained its independence from France in 1804.

Together with the remains of his Sans-Souci Palace, damaged in the 1842 earthquake, Citadelle Henry has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[19] Bois Caïman (Haitian Creole: Bwa Kayiman), three kilometres (2 mi) south of road RN 1, is the place where Vodou rites were performed under a tree at the beginning of the slave revolution.

At Bois Caïman, a maroon leader named Dutty Boukman held the first mass antislavery meeting secretly on August 14, 1791.

Following the ritual led by Boukman and a mambo named Cécile Fatiman, the insurrection started on the night of August 22–23, 1791.

Jean-François was the next leader to follow Dutty Boukman in the uprising of the slaves, the Haitian equivalent of the storming of the Bastille in the French Revolution.

It is the site of the sugar plantation known as "Habitation Le Normand de Mezy", known for several slaves who led the rebellion against the French.

The airport is patrolled by Chilean UN troops since the 2010 earthquake, and several hundred UN personnel have been assigned to the city as part of the ongoing United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

After the earthquake, the port of Labadee was demolished and the pier enlarged and completely re-paved with concrete, which now allows larger cruise ships to dock, rather than tendering passengers to shore.

American Airlines operated international flights to CAP for a number of years, but canceled their last connection in July, 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced passenger demand.