Benin Travel Information

Where is The Republic of Benin?

Benin, a French-speaking West African nation, is a birthplace of the vodun (or “voodoo”) religion and home to the former Dahomey Kingdom from circa 1600–1900. In Abomey, Dahomey's former capital, the Historical Museum occupies two royal palaces with bas-reliefs recounting the kingdom’s past and a throne mounted on human skulls. To the north, Pendjari National Park offers safaris with elephants, hippos and lions.

Capital: Porto-Novo
Dialing code: +229
President: Patrice Talon
Population: 11.8 million (2019) World Bank
Currency: West African CFA franc
Official language: French

Top tourist destinations

Cotonou

Port city in Benin known for Dantokpa Market, Cotonou Cathedral & stilt houses on Lake Nokoué.

Dantokpa Market: Open 24 hour from Monday to Sunday. The biggest market in Cotonou Benin Republic, covering over 20 hectares, also economically important for the country, with a reported commercial turnover of over a billion CFA. With arrangement of stocks. You can fine everything - from Food to clothing to Jewelries to spare parts ( Car and Okada) to natural thing both local and international. The cosmetics business there is booming. The Dantokpa Market is carefully situated along the lagoon to allow the local communities around the country to bring in their goods by road, and river.
Saint Michel Church: Open 24 hours- from Monday to Sunday. Saint Michael Catholic church which is located in Cotonou is one of the biggest church in Benin Republic, it has numerous massive buildings. An iconic landmark for Cotonou. It is in the heart of the city and is in a very busy commercial area with a lots of banks and other institutions around it.
Les Merveilles d'Afrique Mode: Open 24 hours - from Monday to Sunday. Fidjrossè beach like any other beach is a place to have a good time with the sea view. Especially during the holidays it is really crowded with people, with family outings and parties with friends and friends. Clean beach, new well aligned coconut trees grow well on this beach and this already improves the setting. The fishing route which adjoins the beach is made up of 4 different lanes for road, promenade, sportsman and pedestrian.
Grande Mosquee de Zongo: Open 24 hours - from Monday to Sunday. Place of worship for musulmans. One of the largest mosque in Cotonou. The mosque located in a busy environment. It has modern facilities and a large space for prayer, people are always going in and out - it's almost a marketplace. Located in a very busy neighborhood. Active, crowdy The mosque seems like the biggest in the environment and thus experiences loads of traffic and it has a fairly large parking space so there's no problem if you want to drive down rather than taking public vehicle.
Place du Souvenir: Open 24 hours - from Monday to Sunday. Place du Souvenir, formerly called Place des Martyrs, is a place in the city of Cotonou, in Benin, located in the Haie Vive district. It occupies the corner between Rue 390 and Airport Road. and one of the largest public square in the heart of the city of Cotonou, ideal for a quick exchange meeting, easy to locate.
Cotonou Cathedral: The cathedral of Notre Dame de Miséricorde, commonly known as Cotonou Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral, It is a place of prayer for the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church located near the Ancien Pont Bridge in Cotonou, Benin. It is noted for its distinct burgundy and white striped tiled architecture. Its tower stands towards the rear-end left side of the main building. The cathedral is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cotonou.
Lagune de Cotonou: Very organized and beautiful lagoon not to be missed. Is modest place within town.

Ouidah

City in south Benin known for the Slave Route, Ouidah Museum of History & voodoo culture..

Door of No Return, Ouidah: Open 24 hours - from Monday to Sunday. The place is a historic sight to remind you of the tremendous agony and pain slaves went through during the slavery era, there are several monuments scattered around to take you back down memory lane but ofcourse with the right your guide which will be provided for you at the ministry at a very cheap price. Port Did Non Detour gave me an unforgettable experience. The beach and waves help provide an unnatural calm while you contemplate the weight of this landmark.
Pythons Temple: Open hours 08:00 – 18:00 - from Monday to Sunday. Python Temple in Benin Republic is located in Ouidah town, the Voodoo capital of Benin Republic. The Pythons Temple is one of the main tourist attraction in this small town. For about a Dollar, visitors can hold and have the Python placed round their necks for pictures. Inside the abode of the serpents is chilling and several of them is seen either huddled together at a corner or slithering around. At the exit of the temple are crafts shops where one can buy anything from bangles, headrest to replicas of classical voodoo effigies.
Ouidah Museum of History: The Ouidah History Museum also called the Portuguese Fort is located in the historic capital of Benin. Ouidah museum is actually the last standing edifice that represents the story of the slave trade amongst the major participants in the transatlantic slave transactions. It also gives you insight on the history of the ouidah people. One remarkable thing that caught my attention is the manner in which the king of Dahomey treated their subjects before the advent of the slave merchants.
The Museum of the Zinsou Foundation: It is a beautiful little museum which houses in itself the most beautiful works of African art and which at the same time illustrates the thoughts and way of life of the Beninese world. The contemporary arts collection is quite exquisite and allows for an enjoyable visit for both art lovers and enthusiasts.

Porto-Novo

Capital city of Benin, known for colonial buildings, Musée da Silva & King Toffa’s former palace.

Place Toffa (ex Place Jean Bayol): Located at the entrance to Porto-Novo, this square houses the premises of the city’s Tourist Office, which welcomes and guides you. In a few minutes, be told the story of Xogbonou. One of the important historical monuments of the city, Jardin Place Jean Bayol portrays a statue that represents the first king of the city. Learn about the city's past and the monument, which stands on a pedestal peering off into the distance. Walk around the park and observe local life within the atmostphere of the garden. First, the space is large with the statue of Toffa well decorated, there are large trees that are dated to see their physique.
Da Silva Museum: Open hours - 09:00 – 18:00 The museum was opened in 1998 in a building which is one of the most remarkable specimens of Afro-Brazilian architecture in Porto-Novo. Built in 1890, this house belonged to a wealthy family of "Brazilians", also called Agouda (from the name of the old Portuguese patois used among the mestizos). Very interesting and inspiring place, where you can learn about Benin's history, as well as the continent's history. The museum has two sites,and it was a real pleasure to visit it. Da Silva is a museum, but it is also a good place for social and religious event. It is an affordable event centre
Honmè Museum: Open hours 09:00 – 17:00 - from Monday to Saturday. The Royal Palace, also known as King Toffa's Palace and more recently Musée Honmé, is a former royal residence and today museum in Porto-Novo, Benin. located in full porto_novo in benin more precisely in the district of avassa, the honmè museum is the very first museum of the city of porte.
et de la Nature (JPN) Botanical Garden: Open hours 10:00 – 23:00 - from Tuesday to Saturday. treasure of nature in the heart of Porto-Novo. You can discover an impressive diversity of plants and trees and admire monkeys in the wild. There is an iroko over 40 meters high which is over 300 years old! plenty of medicinal plants, a centenary iroko and above all, more impressive, the history of the ancient Migan forest, transformed by the colonist first into an acclimatization garden and then today the JPN or rather, a museum of plants👍 located in the heart of a city! Really nice!
ulrichastuce: Opens 08:00 – 19:00 Monday to Sun The Great Mosque of Porto-Novo is a mosque in Porto-Novo, Ouémé Department, Benin. the old building of the big mosque is very beautiful. It is a place full of emotion, a historical place in the heart of Porto-Novo. eautiful architecture and sacred place of grouping of Muslims, at the level of the large market of Porto_Novo.
Porto Novo Ethnographic Museum: A museum which constitutes an introduction to the culture of the South-East region of Benin (Porto-Novo) and in particular to Guélédé societies. You can also see musical instruments and dance accessories, such as the sacred drums of Nikki and Porto-Novo, horns, zithers as well as ritual instruments used to interrogate the Fâ and weapons… The collections are very wealthy, but, due to lack of space, a part is on the reserves.

Abomey

Former capital of the Dahomey Kingdom in Benin, with royal palaces & Historical Museum of Abomey.

Place GOHO: Open 24 hours, Monday-Sunday Most important tourist site in the country, representing the illustrious King BÉHANZIN, it has a lot of cultural meaning for the country. Well maintained, it is an excellent place to relax with the park located on site.. It's a calm place with a lot of trees where you can breathe fresh and pure air. There are public benches, car and motorcycles access as well. It's a fantastic place with the outstanding statue of the greatest king of all-time Behanzin. And Large public square accessible to all where you can take in the wind on the public benches, take pictures with the royal prerogative etc.
Maître Adra: Opens 09:00 - 17:00, Monday-Sunday The Royal Palaces of Abomey are 12 palaces spread over an area of 40 hectares at the heart of the Abomey town in Benin, formerly the capital of the West African Kingdom of Dahomey. The Kingdom was founded in 1625 by the Fon people who developed it into a powerful military and commercial empire, which dominated trade with European slave traders on the Slave Coast until the late 19th century, to whom they sold their prisoners of war. At its peak the palaces could accommodate for up to 8000 people. The King's palace included a two-story building known as the "cowrie house" or akuehue. Under the twelve kings who succeeded from 1625 to 1900, the kingdom established itself as one of the most powerful of the western coast of Africa. You can't claim to know the history of Benin without this place. It was the capital of Dahomey now Benin. It was the most powerful kingdom and defeat everyone around him. Here have what we call Amazone, it is women who where soldiers and can go defeat the enemy army. They was powerful. This place is wonderful too because of the colonialism history. The kings specially Behanzin fight against colonialism. There is amazing history about this place,