Where to Stay in Dakar

What is Dakar known for?

Dakar is known as the cultural and commercial centre of French-speaking West Africa. Its museums draw travellers first. The Museum of Black Civilizations and the IFAN Museum of African Arts sit within the same city, alongside the National Gallery of Dakar and the smaller Selebe Yoon and Galerie Arte spaces that keep its contemporary art scene visible.

Two events carry the name abroad: the Dakar Rally and the Contemporary Art Biennale. The island of Gorée, just offshore, holds the Mémorial de Gorée. That heritage is the draw.

What are the main landmarks in Dakar?

Dakar sets its main landmarks around museums and the sea. Museums lead. The Museum of Black Civilizations and the IFAN Museum of African Arts anchor the city, with the Historical Museum of Senegal and the Musée des Forces Armées Sénégalaise adding narrower collections.

The Porte du Troisième millénaire stands on the seafront. Offshore, the island of Gorée holds the Church of Saint Charles Borromée and the Mémorial de Gorée. Art has its own circuit here too, through the National Gallery of Dakar and the Galerie nationale d'Art.

What is the history of Dakar?

Dakar grew into the capital and largest city of Senegal, and its history is written into the island of Gorée just offshore. Gorée is small. Its long-settled story is carried by the Mémorial de Gorée and by the Church of Saint Charles Borromée, which stands among its old houses.

On the mainland, the city gathered the institutions that made it the cultural and commercial centre of French-speaking West Africa, and the collections of the Historical Museum of Senegal and the IFAN Museum of African Arts hold much of that record. The IFAN institute gave the city one of the oldest research collections in the region, and the museum grew from it. Later, the Museum of Black Civilizations was raised to widen that story beyond Senegal alone.

The Musée des Forces Armées Sénégalaise keeps the military strand of the past. Two recurring events, the Dakar Rally and the Contemporary Art Biennale, tied the city's name to the wider world and drew visitors from Western Europe and beyond. The heritage of Gorée remains the deepest layer.

Where is Dakar?

Dakar sits on the coast of Senegal, at the far western edge of the mainland. The sea is close. The city faces the water, and the small island of Gorée lies just offshore within easy reach of the harbour that the Musée de la Mer overlooks.

That coastal position made Dakar the outward-facing anchor of French-speaking West Africa, with the open sea on one side and the country of Senegal spreading inland behind it.

What is the climate of Dakar?

Dakar has a hot tropical climate softened by the sea. The year splits into a long dry season and a shorter wet one, with the coast staying cooler than the interior of Senegal. Warm air and ocean breezes carry across the harbour and out to the island of Gorée for most of the year.

Rain, when it comes, arrives in the warmer months. The coast tempers the heat.

How do you get to Dakar?

Dakar is the main point of entry into Senegal and much of French-speaking West Africa. Flights connect it directly with Western Europe, which is why it is often the first stop for travellers heading further into the region. From the city, the short boat crossing reaches the island of Gorée and its heritage.

Road and rail link Dakar inland to the rest of Senegal. Most visitors arrive by air.