10 Delightful(ish) Things to Do in Dakar, Senegal

Making a list of all the best things to do in Dakar, Senegal? I’ve compiled them all below based off my trip!

One thing about me is, I’m always up for adventure and will go just about anywhere in the world as long it’s safe and ethical. Cue my friends moving to Senegal for work and asking me if I could watch their cats over winter! Escape Philly’s cold winter for sunshine? Um, yes please.

I will admit my knowledge of Africa is insanely limited. Although I have plenty of countries I’d love to visit, I’ve really only been to Morocco and South Africa. The former because it was a middle ground for my friend and I to meet after her teaching contract was up in Spain. The latter because a bunch of my friends in Namwon had moved back and I wanted to visit them all. I knew nothing about Senegal before booking my tickets, so I was excited to plan this trip from scratch.

Here’s everything I got up to in between cuddling the cutest kitties!

Top Things to Do in Dakar, Senegal

1. Climb up the African Renaissance Monument

French Name: Monument de la Renaissance Africaine

If there’s one thing that tops like every list of things to do in Dakar, it’s visiting the African Renaissance Monument. Even if you don’t know anything about it, you’ll drive by at least once if you go between Almadies and downtown.

The monument towers over everything at 171ft and sits one of the Collines des Mamelles hills. You truly cannot miss it. It’s also considered one of, if not the tallest statue in all of Africa and was completed in time for Senegal’s 50th Anniversary of independence in 2010. You can climb up the stairs to get to the bottom and then pay to take an elevator up to the man’s hat area.

Now, I can’t mention visiting the statue without noting some of its more controversial history. The first is that while it was designed by Sengalese architect, Pierre Goudiaby Atepa, it was built by North Korean company, Mansudae Overseas Projects. Odd for a statue that’s supposed to represent an age of African Renaissance… If you’re wondering why it has that Soviet-vibe, that’s why.

The second is that it sounds as though the President who commissioned was pretty unpopular. Add to the fact that it cost the country $27 million USD… not great for a country still in its developing phase.

My friend also pointed out it pushes a very heteronormative, patriarchal message with the man as the center and the woman behind.

See it for yourself! I didn’t go up the elevator but I did climb up the stairs to both see the statue more closely and the views around it. I feel like everything shared about it is true in one way or another, which does, indeed, make for a mixed experience.

2. Do a guided tour of Gorée Island

French Translation: Île de Gorée

Okay, I know I named this post Delightful Things to do in Dakar for the alliteration, so let me caveat and say this next thing isn’t totally delightful. In fact part of it is intensely horrifying while the other part is, in fact, lovely.

Anyway, next on the list is to take a ferry from Dakar and visit Gorée Island.

The island is so interesting because it has such a dark past but its present is so full of color and hope. I really recommend doing a guided tour so you have someone to fully tell you the history.

Most trips will start with the House of Slaves (Maison des Esclaves). The mansion was once a holding cell for those being sold on the Atlantic Slave Trade. It’s debated how significant Gorée Island was specifically to the slave trade, but, I don’t know, even if only ten people physically passed through its doors, that’s still ten people who suffered unimaginable cruelty. Either way, the house has become hugely symbolic to the slave trade and there’s even the “Door of No Return,” which is especially a somber memorial.

Afterwards, your guide will take you around the island and bring you into the present day where art and education flourish. The big thing they should do (and if not, stay longer to do yourself) is take you to one of the sand art galleries. There artists use sand from all regions of Senegal, glue made from baobab trees, and plywood to create these gorgeous pieces. If you’re really interested, back in Dakar you can do this sand painting workshop.

As far as guides go, I can’t recommend Ali enough! He speaks fluent English and met me at the ferry terminal in Dakar. Use WhatsApp (+221 77 503 33 53) to book and have cash handy to pay. He’ll even help negotiate a taxi when you leave or at the very least wait with you for your Yango ride.

If he’s unavailable or you want to use card, you can book a private tour here or join a tour here.

3. Explore The Museum of Black Civilisations

French Name: Musée des Civilisations Noires

If there’s only one museum you visit in Dakar, let it be the Museum of Black Civilisations. Like the name suggests, it’s pretty much a massive museum dedicated to the history of Africa, especially West Africa and Senegal. There are also different, rotating exhibits, and when I went there was a really cool one on African women.

It’s in walking distance to the ferry terminal for Gorée so if you want, you could do a combination day with both places. Remember to bring cash for your ticket!

4. Enjoy everything artsy in Dakar

The biggest takeaway I had about Dakar is that it is such an artsy city. Whatever you see and wherever you go, some sort of artistry will be involved. I loved it!! Here are a few specific ways:

Public Murals

There are murals everywhere! Not quite as prolific as in Philly but still I loved how often I walked or drove by a normal wall and saw a beautiful, bright mural on it. Way more than I managed to photograph!

Art Galleries

Especially when you’re downtown, you’ll notice there are a lot of small art galleries you can go in and check out. I particularly liked Galerie ADAM (pictured above).

Boutiques & Souvenir Shops

And to really finish off the list, explore all the different boutiques and souvenir shops! They’re so brightly decorated and many of the souvenirs offered are painted or handmade. I wound up buying more than I meant to because everything was so unique.

If you’re looking for a big purchase, look into different woven baskets. It’s an art form in Senegal and the options are limitless!! Have cash on hand to buy from various vendors but if you want to use card, Imadi @ Lulu takes them. When we went, you could even see artisans at work.

5. Visit the Mosque of the Divinity & Bay of Colorful Boats

French Name: Mosquée de la Divinité

This little section in Ouakam is probably the most colorful section in all of Dakar. Start with the Mosque of the Divinity. When you go, one of the members of the mosque is going to take you around and give you a scarf to cover your hair if need be. While the tour is “free,” they are going to ask for a donation at the end, so have some small bills.

Right on the other side of the mosque is a bay full of colorfully painted boats. Pretty much as soon as my mini-mosque tour was over, a guy from that village came up and insisted on showing me around. He too asked for money at the end so, again, have some small bills on hand for him as well.

I would say this is one of the prettiest parts of Dakar but it is the time I felt the most overwhelmed by men constantly coming up and talking to me. It’s kind of a lot when you’re literally alone and there are no other women in sight! No one was unfriendly or dangerous but still, if you’re a woman you know exactly what I mean.

If I were to visit again, I’d probably go with a group, someone who spoke French, or on a tour. This city tour stop heres as does this private one.

6. Eat jollof rice!

Other Name: thieboudienne

Or should I say thieboudienne? I’m going to be honest, I’d never heard of jollof rice before coming to Senegal. Or if I have, I don’t recall! But it’s a really popular dish from West and Central Africa made with rice, tomatoes, vegetables, chilis, onions, and spices and is crazy delicious. It originated in Senegal (the name jollof comes from the Wolof Empire and Jolof Kingdom) specifically in Saint-Louis.

Here it’s called thieboudienne (che-bu-jen) and is served with fish. From what I’ve read, it’s often served communal style which makes sense because I had the hardest time finding it at restaurants!! One place even told me they only serve it on Sundays.

I finally got lucky at a spot on Ngor Island. I actually went to one restaurant and asked, and the guy took me over to where his cousin works. (Felt like one of those “Ah, Senegal, I love you” moments!) I wish I could remember the specific name but just know it was on the beach and the island is so small, you can pretty much ask every restaurant there if they have thieboudienne in under 20 minutes!!

I’m kicking myself because I should’ve totally done this cooking class and learned to make it for myself too. Time to look of jollof rice spots in Philly…

7. Visit one of Dakar’s Markets

There are a lot of cool markets around Dakar, but I only managed to make it to Marché Kermel during one of my downtown days. I went because the building is historic and very cool looking. Otherwise, it’s pretty chaotic with vendors so I circled the whole thing pretty quickly, especially since I wasn’t grocery shopping.

I will say if you’ve never been to a chaotic market before, this might be sensory overload. Go being prepared to say “Non merci,” and maybe just plug in some headphones so you can block out the noise.

The one I wish I had made it to was Marché Soumbédioune. It’s on the coast with its own array of colorful boats and supposed to be better for fish as well as the normal artisan goods. I was honestly just running low on cash for Yango rides!!

8. Check out the oceanside restaurants in Almadies

I explain this more in my travel tips post but if you look at a map, you’ll see Dakar is really spread out and that downtown Dakar is quite far from what’s known as the Almadies neighborhood where I stayed. Even Almadies itself is big so I’m mainly talking about its Ngor section in the westernmost point of Dakar (and all of mainland Africa).

This whole section is full of really charming seaside restaurants. There’s also night clubs from what I could tell on my drive to the airport but I didn’t get to visit any. Spend an afternoon at one of the spots and enjoy the ocean! Some places I enjoyed:

• Restaurant Le Ngor Pieds dans l’eau – really cool decor and outdoor seating where you can look out at the water.
• Le Plage Dakar – my friends took me here! very cute spot with loungers, so it’s lovely if you want to spend the whole afternoon here.
• La Cabane du Pêcheur – right by the boat for Ngor Island. Feet in sand, very cute spot.

9. Look for the cheerfully painted Car Rapides

I’m mildly obsessed with the car rapides in Dakar! They’re these minibuses from France that have been around since the 1970s. They’re covered in the coolest paintings and further my point that Dakar is one of the artiest cities I’ve ever visited.

The funny thing is, I saw a bunch of them my first day and then could not figure out how to see them again despite going to downtown Dakar a few more times. Only on Christmas in Ouakam did I pass a whole load of them in line by the church I went to. The snaps above are stills I took from the back of a taxi!

If you’re thinking of doing a tour, you can do one in a car rapide. I’m, again, kicking myself because my friend mentioned it as an option and I just completely forgot. (Catsitting is a very distracting job, okay?)

10. Escape to Ngor Island

French Name: Île de Ngor

And to round out this list, a nice city break on Ngor Island. Not to be confused with Ngor neighborhood! I wrote a whole post about this island but essentially it’s this teeny, tiny place right off the coast of Dakar. You can get the boat from here.

There are no cars but there are art galleries, chill restaurants, and surfing. The whole thing literally takes 20-30 minutes to walk and that’s if you’re going very slowly and taking a million pictures. If it’s warm enough out, this is where you want to bring a swimsuit and rent one of the loungers! Unfortunately, even Senegal experiences winter even if it’s like a 70-80F version of one. The water just a bit too cold for swimming!

Some Things I May Have Missed:

Just so you think I didn’t completely miss these things to do in Dakar; I didn’t! I just either didn’t have time or wasn’t super interested in going myself. However, they may be something you want to prioritize:

• Lac Rose – The pink lake day trip. I mostly didn’t go because there were debates on just how pink the lake actually was, and it just looked like something that would’ve been more fun with a friend than on my own.
• Bandia Reserve – I think if you’ve never been to Africa or don’t think you’ll be back to do a safari, Bandia is a cool place to see all the big mammals of the continent. However, none of them are native to Senegal, and I fully have plans to do a safari somewhere like Botswana or Tanzania someday. Additionally, I’ve seen elephants in Addo (and also Yok Don in Vietnam) so I didn’t feel a pressing need to go to Bandia.
• Saint-Louis – I actually really would’ve loved to do an overnight in Saint-Louis but I couldn’t leave the cats overnight, and then had travel plans immediately after, so alas no time to go! But Saint-Louis has a ton of history and was once the capital of Senegal when the French had a colony here, so on the future bucket list.
• Phare des Mamelles – This is a lighthouse with a restaurant in Dakar. I saw it from afar and that was good enough for me. It does look beautiful for sunsets if you want to go.

And there you are! All the best things to do in Dakar, Senegal. Anything I’m missing? Let me know below!

For more of Africa:

• A Very Efficient Morocco Itinerary for 3 Weeks
• Escape to Langebaan, a Sleepy Seaside Town in South Africa
• What to Eat in Morocco: 23 Foods & Drinks You Must Try

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