Travel Guide Dakar

With more than 3 million inhabitants, the Dakar urban area is a sprawling and dynamic city, which sees neighbourhoods growing like mushrooms around new development axes in the north. Its face is constantly changing, especially since the creation of the motorway linking Dakar to the Petite Côte, which considerably reduces congestion in the centre from Patte d'Oie, its traffic jams, its pollution and its overheated atmosphere. Tourists generally come to Dakar only to spend a few days there, unlike businessmen who do not leave. The Senegalese people themselves go to the capital to do business and the spirit of the city is affected. The political-military rebellion in Côte d'Ivoire that began in September 2002 (which split the country in two), has benefited Senegal, especially Dakar, where the headquarters of several major companies and organizations in West Africa have been transferred, fostering the emergence of a very active middle class.Dakar is above all a modern and cosmopolitan city that does not present any major interest for tourists, except for a few historic buildings, the island of Gorée, and its vibrant cultural and nightlife. But with the recent opening of several places of interest, Dakar wants to keep its tourists for several days. Ousmane Sow's house, inaugurated during the 2018 Biennale, is a veritable artistic labyrinth where we can discover the artist's monumental works and her more intimate life. Not to mention the Museum of Black Civilizations, opened in December 2018, which presents quality exhibitions, retracing the history of black peoples from the beginning of humanity to the present day.A half-day walk allows you to immerse yourself in the atmosphere so characteristic of the plateau, the nerve centre of the city, tumultuous, bubbling, dense, hot, which draws your energy in a few hours. The sea, yet so close by the ledge, seems to be miles away..To avoid suffocation, it is better to change the atmosphere regularly: a stroll in the surrounding neighbourhoods such as the popular Medina where children play in the street, a sunset from Gorée Island, a dive in the Magdalen Islands, a lobster or garlic prawns in a restaurant on Ngor Island or oysters on Almadies Point. So many gusts of air from the Atlantic that destress and shine on the people of Dakar and pale-looking tourists. Discovering Senegal's capital from France also means immersing yourself in the boiling markets of people discussing in a jumble of goods, appreciating its diversity, its modernity and its generosity.First impressions. For the traveller who has already visited other African capitals, Dakar seems at first sight more westernized, more developed too, with its bourgeois districts built with well paved streets and sidewalks, rather than sandy tracks everywhere.For those who have never set foot on the continent, however, the change of scenery can be brutal. The assault of official or unofficial guides (hang in there, after that it's less complicated), the tin huts next to the luxury villas, some in the dust patiently waiting for an overloaded ageless bus, while others are comfortably installed in their 4x4 with tinted windows. The avenues in the centre look like markets as they are frequented by bana-bana, itinerant merchants who live from a small informal trade, and by talibés, children who beg for their marabout and shock so many Westerners arriving in Senegal. By reaching the centre via the "highway", the taxi can dangerously graze a fast bus, driving is not always dictated by the highway code, but by the drivers' feeling! Finally, it is by reaching the centre of Dakar that we find a more Western modernity, with a few glass towers emerging from the Plateau and luxury hotels on the roads of the central cornices.In the near future. With the opening of Blaise Diagne airport in Diass and the construction of the new city of Diamniadio 30 km southwest of the capital, Dakar should change its face in the coming years. In addition to the already functional highway, a regional train line is being finalized between Dakar and Diass. Scheduled for the end of 2019, it will pass through Rufisque, Bargny and Diamniadio, to reach Blaise Diagne airport in just 45 minutes. Currently emerging from the ground 15 km from the airport, the new city of Diamniadio will also relieve congestion in Dakar. It will house the business centre, government ministerial offices and many residential areas. Between construction sites and new buildings, some companies are gradually starting to set up shop there.