Dakar

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About Dakar

At the tip of the Cap-Vert peninsula, where Africa reaches furthest into the Atlantic, Dakar is a city of ocean light, sea wind and constant rhythm. Senegal's capital spreads from the colonial grid of the Plateau to fishing beaches, surf breaks and volcanic headlands, and its music, from mbalax to hip hop, spills out of clubs and taxis late into the night.

The French made Dakar the capital of French West Africa in the early 20th century, and it became the capital of independent Senegal in 1960. Just offshore, the island of Gorée recalls a much darker past as a hub of the Atlantic slave trade. Modern Dakar answers with confident landmarks: the giant African Renaissance Monument and the Museum of Black Civilizations, opened in 2018.

Plan for a mix of history and coast: a ferry to Gorée, sunset at Pointe des Almadies, a pirogue to Ngor Island and a plate of thieboudienne, the national rice-and-fish dish. Pink Lake Retba makes an easy half-day trip, and the beaches of the Petite Côte lie a couple of hours south.

Best seasonNovember-May (dry season)

Ideal stay3-4 days

ArrivingBlaise Diagne International Airport, east of the city

What to See in Dakar: 12 Favorites

History 2

Gorée Island

A short ferry ride from Dakar's port, this small car-free island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most powerful memo...

House of Slaves (Gorée)

This late 18th-century house on Gorée, with its double curved staircase and cramped cells below, has become a symbol of the slave...

Landmarks 1

African Renaissance Monument

Unveiled in 2010 for the 50th anniversary of independence, this huge bronze statue of a man, woman and child rises from one of the...

Religious Sites 2

Grand Mosque of Dakar

Opened in 1964 and built with help from Morocco, the Grand Mosque stands at the edge of the Médina with a tall, square minaret ric...

Mosque of the Divinity

Set right on the rocky shore at Ouakam, this white mosque with two slender minarets was built in the 1990s and seems to rise strai...

Museums 2

Museum of Black Civilizations

Opened in December 2018, this museum fulfils a dream first voiced by President Léopold Sédar Senghor in the 1960s. Its circular bu...

Théodore Monod Museum of African Art

Facing Place Soweto on the Plateau, this colonial-era building holds one of the oldest collections of African art in West Africa,...

Viewpoints 2

Pointe des Almadies

This rocky headland is the westernmost point of mainland Africa, where waves crash over black volcanic rocks beneath a small clust...

Mamelles Lighthouse

Built in the 1860s on the higher of the two Mamelles hills, this white lighthouse still guides ships around the Cap-Vert peninsula...

Beaches 1

Ngor Island

Painted wooden pirogues shuttle visitors from Ngor beach to this small island just offshore in a few minutes. Narrow lanes wind be...

Food and Drink 1

Soumbédioune Fish Market

On the Corniche Ouest, colourful pirogues come ashore at Soumbédioune each afternoon, and the beach fills with traders buying fish...

Nature 1

Lake Retba

Northeast of the city, this shallow lagoon is known as Lac Rose because salt-loving algae can tint its water strawberry pink, most...

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Photo: Fawaz.tairou, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

Photo: Ji-Elle, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

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Photo: Fawaz.tairou, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

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Photo: Jeff Attaway from Abuja, Nigeria, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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Photo: Jeff Attaway from Abuja, Nigeria, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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Photo: Jeff Attaway, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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Photo: Jeff Attaway from Abuja, Nigeria, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

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