Ganvié, Ouidah and the cradle of Vodun. Here is when to go, what a day costs on site and what to see, then Okela composes your itinerary hour by hour.

Compose my trip to CotonouSee Cotonou in Okela

When to visit Cotonou

Best months: January, February, March, November and December.

What to see in Cotonou

1. Marché Dantokpa
   Dantokpa is Cotonou's vast open-air market, a maze of lanes where a large share of Benin's trade, and much of the region's, takes place.
2. Fondation Zinsou
   This private foundation, created in 2005, devotes its exhibitions to contemporary African art and ties culture to social action.
3. Ganvié (village lacustre)
   Ganvié is a village built on stilts in the middle of Lake Nokoué, where the streets are canals and people paddle to school, to market or to a neighbour's house.
4. Ouidah (Porte du Non-Retour, Temple des Pythons)
   Ouidah was one of the main embarkation ports of the slave trade in West Africa, and it is also a major centre of vodun.
5. Plage de Fidjrossè
   Fidjrossè is a long sandy beach lined with coconut palms on Cotonou's Atlantic shore, well away from the bustle of the city centre.
6. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Cotonou
   Seat of the Archdiocese of Cotonou, this cathedral is one of the city's main religious landmarks, set in a dense and lively neighbourhood.
7. Place de l'Amazone & Esplanade
   This monument honours the Amazons of the Kingdom of Dahomey, the women warriors who left their mark on Benin's history.
8. Musée d'Art contemporain de Ouidah
   Opened in 2013 in Ouidah, a town shaped by vodun and the memory of the slave trade, this museum offers a thoroughly present-day perspective on a place often described through its past.

A sample itinerary for Cotonou, three days

Composed by Okela from the places in its database, with times. Yours takes your dates, pace and group into account.

Budget

Expect about €74 per person per day on site (accommodation, meals, transport and visits), depending on the comfort you choose. Okela shows the price of every step of your itinerary.

My Cotonou itinerary, hour by hour

Photo: Adoscam, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.