Flights to Cotonou

From the airport into town

Taxis wait outside arrivals, and the ride to the centre or the beachfront hotels usually takes 15 to 25 minutes. Agree the fare before you set off or ask your hotel to arrange a pickup. Around town, zémidjans, the motorbike taxis whose riders wear yellow shirts, are everywhere, though a car with a driver is more comfortable for longer trips. You need an e-visa and a yellow fever certificate to enter Benin.

Markets, art and the seafront

Dantokpa, usually called Tokpa, is a sprawling open-air market beside the lagoon where traders sell cloth, spices, tools and ingredients for Vodun ceremonies. The Fondation Zinsou shows contemporary African art, and the Centre de Promotion de l'Artisanat is the place to look for carvings, bronze work and appliqué banners. A giant bronze Amazon statue, honouring the women soldiers of the old Dahomey kingdom, stands near the coast. Fidjrossè beach is popular at weekends, but strong currents make swimming risky.

Ganvié and Ouidah

Boats leave Abomey-Calavi, north of the city, for Ganvié, a village of stilt houses on Lake Nokoué where families fish, trade and travel by pirogue. Ouidah, about 40 km west along the coast, was a slave-trading port; the Route des Esclaves leads 4 km to the Door of No Return memorial on the beach. The town also has the Python Temple and a history museum in an old Portuguese fort, and it hosts Benin's Vodun festival each January.

Food, money and timing

Look for amiwo, red cornmeal cooked in tomato sauce, grilled fish with hot pepper sauce, and aloko, fried plantain. The CFA franc is used, French is the official language and Fon is widely spoken. The dry months from November to March are the most comfortable. Cotonou is an hour ahead of the UK in winter and on the same time in summer. Check current UK government travel advice and your insurance before you go.

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