Travel Guide Grand-Popo

Grand-Popo is a former commercial crossroads where Portuguese navigators came to buy palm oil especially to the Xwla or Huela, which they called Popo, which would mean "fishermen", but this the remains controversial. Grand-Popo, the colonial city, would really have developed under the leadership of the Dreyfus administrator from 1901. The many colonial buildings that are still seen, such as the court, the post, the old counters, the school of girls and boys… testify to the past splendour of this ancient circle, because with the construction of the Cotonou port and Wharf, Grand-Popo was gradually abandoned and became a ghost city. Moreover, a whole part of the town that had spread along the coast was sunk under the effect of the sea's progress, covering nearly 10 km of buildings, including the church, town hall… moreover, the fishermen's nets often cling to submerged foundations. However, this phenomenon appears to have stabilized. Today, Grand-Popo, with its beach, is a holiday resort where the whites and the rich traders of Lomé and Cotonou come to rest. Its privileged location also makes it the starting point for the discovery of the Mouth of Le Roy, which marks the mouth of the Mono River, as well as many villages bordering the river where one can see Legba (the dieux protective gods) or other convents, thus approaching some aspects of voodoo worship, very living in the region. A place of idleness, where the tradition of hospitality still keeps its meaning, romantic strolls on the beach at sunset and evenings of full moon always magical.