The country's first colonial capital, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the beach at the end of every street.
Grand-Bassam was the capital of French Côte d'Ivoire from 1893, until a yellow fever epidemic pushed the administration inland. What it left behind is a colonial quarter that has aged without being restored into a theme park: customs houses, the governor's palace, a post office and merchant villas, red brick and shuttered verandas, standing between the Ébrié lagoon and the Atlantic. UNESCO listed the town in 2012.
It's forty-five minutes from Abidjan on a good road, which makes it the city's Sunday outing — busy at weekends, quiet during the week. Most visitors combine the heritage quarter in the morning with the beach in the afternoon, and that works well. If you only have one day outside Abidjan, this is the one to take.
The old administrative and trading district, listed by UNESCO. You walk it in an hour or two — the buildings are unequally maintained, some restored, some half swallowed by vegetation, which is precisely what gives the place its atmosphere.
Housed in the former governor's palace, it displays the ceremonial dress of the country's cultural groups. Small, well laid out, and the best half-hour of context you can get before travelling further inland.
The ocean side has a strong undertow — swim where the locals swim, and ask. The lagoon side is calm, and pirogues will take you across for very little.
Batik, basketwork and woodcarving are made and sold along the main street. Prices are negotiated, calmly and without hurry — it's part of the exchange.
The great festival of the N'Zima people, held in Grand-Bassam. For a week, the community settles its accounts publicly through song and dance: grievances of the past year are aired, mocked and forgiven, and the social slate is wiped clean. It is a real ritual, not a show put on for visitors — and it is one of the most striking things you can witness in the country. Dates move with the traditional calendar; tell us your travel window and we'll check.
A spit of sand with the lagoon on one side and the Atlantic on the other — the country's weekend destination.
ExploreA working fishing port at a river mouth, with sheltered coves on either side. The quiet option.
ExploreThe country's second port, and the way into the wildest stretch of the western coast.
ExploreSend us your dates and what you want out of the trip. We reply with a route, a price and the names of the people who will meet you.
Contact us