Howdy all. If you’re just discovering my blog, every week now I have been doing a detailed post on the places I visited in 2023 when I travelled from Dhaka to Dakar. If you are not new, you’re probably sick of me mentioning this journey I undertook. Either way, here we are and today it’s my final post on Dakar, the final destination of said adventure!

Today I want to go through the sights I checked out whilst I was in Dakar, apart from the islands of Ile de Goree and Ile de N’Gor which I have already covered. In the end I planned longer in Dakar but arrived a day or two late to take in more time and relaxation in Saly. However I still had three and a half days to explore the city and take stock of the incredible journey that brought me there. In total I travelled over 21,000 kilometres from Bangladesh to Senegal, visited 17 different countries and most of that was by land and sea.

Dakar I found was a busy city that suddenly, on my last full day there, shut down as it was Eid. Senegal is a mostly Muslim country – 97% of the country is Muslim which I just checked for this post and was a bit surprising to me as I thought they had a sizable Christian Community, although I was aware the majority of people were Muslim.

So when we hit Eid at the end of Ramadan, well, I did not know where I was. It was like Sunday used to be in Australia forty years ago. That day I walked through Dakar like it was a ghost town in parts. Even in the Place D’Independence. Again a couple of places I wanted to visit were missed but such is life. Today I’ll write briefly about the places I did get to and then next week I will talk about the journey home and overnighting in Abu Dhabi.

Village des Artes

I covered this a couple of weeks back, but this is a list of things in Dakar so briefly this place is out in Yoff and not in the downtown area. There’s a gallery here and artists’ workshops and you can see the artists at work and the art they produce, including a lot of statues and metal work which is really cool to check out. A little tricky to get to, but a good spot!

Place D’Independence

This is basically the Dakar Centre I guess, a large square surrounded by buildings, some of note such as the Chambre de Commerce. It’s a place that is iconic in Dakar and you can get a few photos by the fountains that may or may not be in operation, or the flags there. It’s a photo opportunity at the very least – a nice little bar just off it towards the port. Not too far away is the Dakar Train Station too which is colourful, and in front of that stands the Monument Demba et Dupont – to the creators of French West Africa and to those Africans who served/died in World War 2.

African Renaissance Monument

This 52 metre statue is awe-inspiring, but a fair way off the centre of town. I only saw it in passing but I believe there is a viewing platform. It is the tallest statue in all of Africa, and is dedicated by the President Abdoulaye Wade in 2010 when it was opened to the African Renaissance movement. It was designed by Senegalese artist Pierre Goudiaby and interestingly enough was constructed by a North Korean company!

Black Civilisations Museum

The Museum of Black Civilisations is a somewhat new museum opened in 2018 in a round, modern building in Dakar and is definitely worth a visit. Learn about the history of life in Africa and famous Africans and people of African descent, African art and more in this impressive museum.

Our Lady of Victories Cathedral

This catholic cathedral in the leafy streets not that far from Place D’Independence (well, 15 minutes walk) appears modern and is, relatively but I was surprised to find work began on it in 1924, so happy 100^th! Nice to walk around and appreciate, and the area is nice to walk around too the streets are attractive with a lot of greenery and this is the area of town where you’ll find the embassies. Also close by is the IFAN Museum of African Art. I was exploring this part of town on the day that was Eid (first day) and it was closed, but in an impressive colonial building. Google and the internet said it would be open but was sadly wrong (I thought it seemed unlikely).

Grand Mosque

Finally, the Grand Mosque of Dakar. It reminded me a lot of the Moroccan mosques I had seen and also the one in Nouakchott, Mauritania. Again, non-Muslims were not allowed inside but it was impressive and just down the road from my Air BnB. Opened in 1964 it was indeed designed by Moroccan and Senegalese Architects.

Folks, Dakar is not covered in amazing things to see and do, but it still an attractive West African city worth visiting and easy to spend some time in. Senegal as a nation, although there have been protests and issues over the years, is a pretty peaceful nation if you are looking for a sub-Saharan (just!) African country to visit. So why not consider it?

At the Place D’Independence I declared my journey a success (on the vlog) and new that heading home was now the next thing to do. So – just one more of these ‘Dhaka to Dakar’ posts folks! Thanks for joining me today. Take care wherever you are – May the Journey Never End!