The wonders of the Ivory Coast
2024
Highlights of the trip
During your stay you can enjoy the following highlights: Culture / Heritage, Discovery, Free time.
Best times to go
The best time(s) to go is/are : Eté, Automne, Hiver.
Petit Futé
Where to stay - Abidjan ?
The map of your stay "The wonders of the Ivory Coast"
Detail of the stay : The wonders of the Ivory Coast
How to get there - Abidjan
Diving into the hustle and bustle of Abidjan
Steps: Abidjan
Start by plunging headlong into the frenetic bustle of the city with a visit to the Plateau, teeming with the business district and historic heart of Abidjan, whose centre is largely within walking distance. In the afternoon, you can opt for the markets: the CAVA (Centre artisanal de la ville d'Abidjan) in Zone 3, the Cocody market, or the large Belleville market in Treichville. In the evening, a short visit to Ambroise or the rue des Mille-Maquis in Marcory is a must: nothing better to get initiated to the festive atmosphere of the Ivorian nights. Serious things usually start at nightfall and go crescendo as beer and decibels are poured into the maquis.
Places of interest : CENTRE ARTISANAL CAVA
Relaxation day in Abidjan
Steps: Tiagba
A little tired from your first day? Don't worry: Abidjan has a lot to offer, but you can also relax. Head for the Plateau, starting with breakfast in the cozy Pullman lounges, which offer an unobstructed view of the lagoon boulevard and the Cocody bay, carefully watched over by the tall tower of the Hôtel Ivoire. Or, "on the other side of the mirror", a coffee on the terrace of the said Hotel Ivoire, from where you will have a beautiful view of the Plateau skyline with, in trompe-l'oeil in the foreground, a majestic swimming pool seemingly ready to overflow into the lagoon. It's up to you to see. On the way to the Banco, and provided you are accompanied, you can make a stop at the black market of Adjamé, which is really worth the detour, before going to soak up the calm and serenity under the high canopy of this beautiful national park. It is best to go in the morning (or early afternoon), and make sure you have a guide. Back from your sylvan escapade, push on to Cocody-Riviera, towards the Ivory Golf Club, past the Hotel du Golf. It feels like it's at the end of the world, but the walk is really worth it. You can have lunch with a view of the green and the wooded valleys of the golf course, and above all enjoy one of the most beautiful swimming pools inAbidjan. Want a trendy evening to end the day in style? You'll be spoilt for choice between the city's many lounge bars and gourmet restaurants and you can decide which side of the bridges to spend the evening on depending on the atmosphere that suits your mood at the time: more expat in Zone 4, more Ivorian in Cocody. Second alternative: you can take the day to visit the lakeside village on stilts of Tiagba, a few hundred kilometers west ofAbidjan, between Dabou and Grand Lahou. Tour of the peninsula, dugout canoe ride, lunch with your feet in the water, in short: change of scenery guaranteed after your first contact with the noise and fury of Abidjan!
Places of interest : OFFICE DU PARC NATIONAL DU BANCO
Discovery of Yamoussoukro
Steps: Yamoussou Kro
Direction Yamoussoukro, which you will reach after maximum 3 hours of road. It is better to spend the night if you really want to take the time to familiarize yourself with the capital; The visit of the basilica alone deserves a few hours'digestion. Besides that there are also the large schools, the lake to the sacred cayman, the Foundation for Peace, the Barrage dam... Some nice restaurants await you to spend the evening, even if the real show is on the central avenue, with its lot of braiseuses and passants "by the sprung scent".
Places of interest : BARRAGE DE KOSSOU
Heterogeneous neighborhoods of Abidjan
Steps: Île Boulay
Return to Abidjan. You can take the afternoon to stroll through the battered streets of Bingerville, visit the Normandia farm, the botanical garden (or rather what is left of it), the former governor's palace, the Combes museum, the flower plantations... Sad destiny that of this dead-born capital, but under the outrage of time are still hidden beautiful remains with a melancholic nostalgia. A drink on the large terrace of the Marly hotel, boulevard de Marseille, will be a pleasant way to end the day. Second alternative: if you reach Abidjan early enough in the morning, you can also opt for a trip to Boulay Island. On the agenda: a walk in the enchanting and preserved setting of the island, swimming in Lake Bakré, fresh fish at Rodrigue's... a real haven of peace, barely 15 minutes by boat fromAbidjan!
Places of interest : JARDIN BOTANIQUE
Bassam, between craft, canoeing and festive nights
Departure for Bassam. With the exit of Abidjan, take a good half hour drive. At the entrance to the city, with its huts on both sides of the tar, you will find the largest artisanal market in West Africa. " Intra muros ", you can spend a whole day dreaming about the old colonial buildings in the Neighborhood France, but it would be a shame not to visit the old lighthouse on the side of Topéwo. And then there's also the beach and its host of hotels-restaurants, all more attractive than any other, not to mention the canoe rides on the lagoon and finally Bassam by night, in the joy of the local Princess Street or in No Limit, the largest nightclub in West Africa (you will soon discover that in Côte d'Ivoire, Everything is'the largest ' ———— West Africa")...
Relax in Assinie
Steps: Assinie
Last but not least, you are in Assinie, kilometres away. Long sandy beaches, bordered on one side by the lagoon and the other by a jealous and exclusive sea, in a paradise configuration. Enjoy the first day on the island to spend a day relaxing under coconut trees.
Endless beaches
For this second day, walk on the beach and visit the fishing villages.
Various activities.
Steps: Assinie
In Assinie, everything is possible: fishing, skiing, buoy, wake-board and even flyboard on the calm waters of the lagoon, pinch excursions or 4 x 4 to discover the surroundings. All you have to do is choose your business of the day.
Discovery of coffee crops
Steps: Elima
For the last day, a trip to Elima on the eastern shore of the Aby lagoon, cradle of coffee and crucible of the economic destiny of Côte d'Ivoire.
