The African Renaissance Monument is the tallest statue in Africa. © Roberto Ricciuti

In Dakar, the capital of Senegal and the home of teranga, hospitality is everything. For would-be visitors, a promising destination indeed. From historical sites to artistic spaces, to incredible discoveries, Dakar is a vivacious and colorful city that offers adventure for those willing to seek it. Let us take a guided tour.

SLEEP

Hotel Pullman Teranga, în Dakar, Senegal – Photo: MJ Photography / Alamy

Dakar offers numerous lodging options. As such, our selection is far from an exhaustive list, though it offers some great options that will work for any budget and that can satisfy all types of travelers.

*
Not far from the Pointe des Almadies beach in the Ngor neighborhood, the unpretentious Villa D is a simple, comfortable guesthouse with a pool, a patio that opens onto a leafy garden, and air-conditioned rooms equipped with Wi-Fi.
Charming, with unique and colorful decorations, the five rooms at the guesthouse of the ASAO (for “Senegal and West Africa Association,” founded by Valérie Schlumberger) offer socially conscious lodging, with the proceeds donated to a number of local initiatives. A great opportunity for those who want to practice socially responsible tourism.

**
The four-star Villa Racine is a singular hotel: its rooms have quirky decor, its architecture is in the style of a Moroccan riad, and it offers a rooftop lounge, bar, and restaurant.
At the Lagon Hotel, the rooms look like a ship’s cabins, especially with the ocean right outside. It’s like a four-star version of the Nautilus!
Surrounded by lush vegetation, with an Olympic-sized swimming pool, a tennis court, and a private beach, the Hôtel Jardin Savana has a lot going for it. You’ll fall head over heels for its magnificent garden, its modern decor with traditional touches, and much more.
On Rue Bérenger Ferraud, just off of the “Petite Corniche” coastal road, Seku Bi, a boutique hotel with an artsy, minimalist ambiance, offers seven rooms in two colonial-era villas. Located right near the city center, it’s an oasis of calm with ocean views.

***
For greater prestige, you can set your sights on the Terrou-Bi, a recently renovated (2015) seaside resort in the La Corniche neighborhood. The resort offers a casino, its own private beach, and a heated pool.
Last but not least, other options include the elegant Radisson Blu Hotel – Dakar Sea Plaza and the fabulous Hôtel Pullman Dakar Teranga, a five-star hotel with views of Gorée Island.

EAT

Le Bideew restaurant, Dakar – photo:Charles Bah

*
To savor traditional, flavorful, authentic Senegalese cuisine, head to Chez Loutcha in the Plateau neighborhood. Notably, on the menu you’ll find classics like yassa chicken (in a sauce of lemon and caramelized onions) and thieboudienne, the Senegalese national dish of rice sautéed with fish and vegetables. And let’s not forget the Cape Verdean specialties, served in very generous portions.
On a visit to Ngor Island, you can take the opportunity to enjoy grilled thiof (a local fish) and fresh seafood at Chez Seck (Sunu Makane), a friendly restaurant by the beach.

**
Le Bideew, in the garden of the Léopold Sédar Senghor French Institute, offers some fantastic culinary surprises, a beach-bar ambiance, and mosaics as decoration. What’s more, the restaurant serves excellent local juices like bissap (a hibiscus herbal tea flavored with mint) and bouye (made from baobab fruit, a national symbol).
A hip restaurant at the Pointe des Almadies in the Ngor neighborhood where they serve exquisite galettes and crepes, Noflaye Beach allows you to dine with your feet in the water while acrobatic surfers perform for you.
In the heart of the Plateau neighborhood, L’Épicerie is a gourmet food shop selling local Senegalese products. But it also offers a wine bar and café set up on the shop’s rooftop patio. An oasis of calm, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, where you can enjoy a nice lunch or dinner without any fuss.

***
Built on a pier, with panoramic views of the Anse Bernard cove and Gorée Island, Le Lagon I is one of the city’s most popular restaurants. It’s the restaurant of Le Lagon Hotel (dubbed “Le Lagon II”). You’ll enjoy both the cuisine, with its mix of local and international flavors, and the Jules Verne-inspired decor that looks like it came straight out of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
A seaside bar and restaurant with impeccable style, on the Corniche des Almadies coastal road, Le Cabanon offers a diverse menu that blends Senegalese and Mediterranean flavors. The setting is idyllic and the dishes are mouthwatering.
Set atop a hill in the Ouakam neighborhood, Ô Petit Club Africain – L’Appartement offers a restaurant (on the rooftop patio with an open kitchen), guest rooms, an exhibition space, and a cultural space. After his first “club” near Paris, this is the second location from star chef Raoul Coly, who grew up in the Casamance region of Senegal.

SHOP

Man weaving a traditional basket in the Senegambia Craft market, Dakar – Photo: Elizabeth Reason / Alamy

If you want to fill your luggage with souvenirs and gifts, head straight to the local markets. The Kermel market, in the historic center of Dakar, is a magnificent building with Neo-Sudanic architecture. It’s listed as a historic monument. You’ll find a bit of everything there: wooden sculptures, woven baskets, artisan leather goods, bogolan and other traditional textiles, koras (string instruments), drums, and more.
A walk through the metalworking section of the Marché Sandaga (renovated in 2020) or among the tents of the Marché Tilène in the working-class neighborhood of Médina is a thrill for adventurous travelers. For a totally different experience, head to the air-conditioned halls of the Sea Plaza Mall, an ultra-modern shopping mall with shops from major brands, a supermarket, a movie theater, beauty salons, and more.
Harder to find, in spite of its renown, at the back of the “Cour des Maures” in the Plateau neighborhood, you’ll find the workshop of Mam and Samba Gueye, sons of one of Senegal’s greatest reverse glass painters.
On the Corniche Ouest coastal road, explore the Village Artisanal de Soumbédioune, a market where, at the end of the day, you can watch a wild parade of boats coming in, with the fishermen unloading baskets filled with fresh fish. Even if you don’t choose to buy anything, you’ll leave having met some great people.
While you’re in the neighborhood, you can take the opportunity to visit the showroom of designer Ousmane Mbaye, a champion of metal upcycling, right near the market. A bit further away, still on the Corniche Ouest coastal road, the shop of Adama Paris, a Senegalese style icon who launched the Dakar Fashion Week, is a must-see for fashionistas. The same goes for the showroom of international designer Selly Raby Kane, tucked away in the Sacré Cœur III neighborhood.
The city is also home to a number of concept stores—from Layu Café, to FKoncept, to Lulu Home Interior & Café— based on all sorts of themes: clothing, fashion accessories, cosmetics, and art and décor.
Speaking of décor, you’ll find some excellent places to buy home textiles thanks, in particular, to the artists Johanna Bramble (based in the Ouakam neighborhood) and Aïssa Dione (whose showroom is also in Ouakam), who showcase the expertise of local textile artisans.

DISCOVER

Théodore Monod African Art Museum – photo: Charles Bah

Dakar is home to many points of interest that preserve both the ancient and more recent history of the city. Some of the most visited include: the African Renaissance Monument (a bronze and copper statue, 52 meters tall, of a family, standing on one of the two “Mamelles,” the volcanic hills overlooking Dakar), the Obelisk (erected in honor of the country’s independence in 1960), and La Porte du Troisième Millénaire (“The Door to the Third Millennium,” a monument honoring Africa’s entry into the 21st century). The Presidential Palace, the Grand Mosque, Our Lady of Victories Cathedral, the train station with its Art Deco facade, and Massalikul Jinaan Mosque (the largest mosque in West Africa, opened in 2019) are also great places to see.

The “Door of No Return” in the House of Slaves, which opens directly to the sea, where the slaves were taken before their crossing to the West Indies, Brazil, Cuba, the United States or Haiti, among other places. Goree Island, Senegal – photo: Charles Bah

Gorée Island, home to the infamous House of Slaves (a memorial to the Black slave trade), founded in 1776, and the Fort d’Estrées, is undeniably a must-see part of the city. The island has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978. Climb to the top of the Plateau du Castel to get a panoramic view of the entire island and to check out the impressive World War II-era canons there. Before you leave, you might not be able to resist buying some of the beautiful wares sold by local artisans: sand paintings, jewelry, wooden statuettes, and more.

Ngor Island, Senegal – photography: Charles Bah

A day trip to Ngor Island, with its labyrinth of narrow streets lined with bright colors and its houses decorated with ceramic mosaics, is well worth the detour. After a five-minute boat ride from the mainland, you’re immersed in a bubble of serenity. A little slice of heaven where it’s not unusual to come across celebrities on vacation.
In addition, art and culture abound in Dakar like nowhere else in West Africa. The city has a prolific arts scene. This includes many museums and galleries, including the Raw Material Company contemporary art center from Cameroonian artist Koyo Kouoh, an incredible incubator for new talent; the Maison d’Ousmane Sow in the Yoff Village neighborhood, where you can see 30 or so works from the sculptor, who passed away in 2016; the immense Musée des Civilisations noires (Black Civilizations Museum), which opened in 2018, just across a square from the Grand Théâtre National; the Musée d’Art africain Théodore Monod (an African art museum, formerly the French Institute of Black Africa, founded in 1931) within the Université Cheikh Anta Diop; the Musée Léopold Sédar Senghor, a museum where you can learn all about this poet who was Senegal’s first president; and the Galerie Cécile Fakhoury, a hotspot for contemporary African art.
Nature lovers and those who like to take it easy will undoubtedly enjoy a nice walk along the Plage de Yoff (a beach on the northern edge of the city), with its wrestlers and its unusual horse-drawn carriages. The famous Lake Retba, also known as “Lac Rose” (Pink Lake) because of a microorganism that thrives there by producing a pinkish-red pigment to help it resist the high salinity of the water, is another must-see destination. The most adventurous tourists can continue on to the Bandia Wildlife Reserve, located 65 km south of Dakar on the Route de Mbour (highway N1).