Abidjan
Abidjan is the seat of government, largest city and former capital of Ivory Coast.
Abidjan is the seat of government, largest city and former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city proper in Africa, after Lagos, Cairo, Kinshasa, Dar es Salaam, and Johannesburg. A cultural crossroads of West Africa, Abidjan is characterised by a high level of industrialisation and urbanisation. It is the most populous French-speaking city in West Africa.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Abidjan
10 places within 25 km that the world writes about, in the order of how widely: the ones a visitor has heard of first, then the ones only a local would name.
- 01Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium
The Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium, nicknamed Le Félicia, is a multi-purpose stadium, which can host football, rugby union and athletics, in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is the former national stadium of the Ivory Coast national football team.
2.1 km · building in Africa · Wikipedia - 02Félix Houphouët Boigny University
Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, formerly known as Université de Cocody or Université de Cocody-Abidjan, is a public university located in the Cocody section of Abidjan and the largest in Côte d'Ivoire. With over 50,000 students, the UFHB has 13 faculties and several research centers providing diplomas from two-year undergraduate to professional academic, medical, legal, and specialist degrees.
6.1 km · university in côte d'ivoire · Wikipedia - 03Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan ) is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire.
2.3 km · archdiocese of the Catholic Church · Wikipedia - 04Roman Catholic Diocese of Yopougon
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Yopougon ) is a diocese located in the city of Yopougon in the ecclesiastical province of Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire.
5.4 km · diocese of the Catholic Church · Wikipedia - 05National Library of Ivory Coast
National Library of Ivory Coast is located in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It was closed in 2006 because of lack of funding and a new team led by Adjiman Nandoh Chantal has been at work since February 2008 and aims to restore and renew the institution.
2.3 km · national library · Wikipedia - 06Stade Robert Champroux
Robert Champroux Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Marcory, a suburb of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. It is currently used mostly for association football matches, serving the home ground of Jeunesse Club d'Abidjan and Stella Club d'Adjamé.
4.7 km · football stadium · Wikipedia - 07Canal de Vridi
The Vridi Canal, or Canal de Vridi, is a navigable canal in Ivory Coast, connecting the port of Abidjan to the Atlantic Ocean. It was constructed in 1950 and takes its name from the village of Vridi.
8.3 km · Navigable canal in Ivory Coast, constructed in 1950 · Wikipedia - 08St. Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the city of Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The cathedral, which was designed by the Italian architect Aldo Spirito, serves as the mother church for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Abidjan.
2.3 km · religious building of Abidjan (Ivory Coast) · Wikipedia - 09Tour F
Tour F is a supertall office skyscraper under construction in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Started in 2021 and expected to be completed in 2026, it will stand at 421 metres tall with 75 floors and will surpass the Iconic Tower in Egypt's The New Capital to become the tallest building in Africa.
2.4 km · Skyscraper in Abidjan · Wikipedia - 10Université catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest
Université catholique de l'Afrique de l'Ouest or Catholic University of West Africa was founded in 1967 as the Higher Institute of Religious Culture; later it became a university. It is situated in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
4.4 km · university in Abidjan, Ivory Coast · Wikipedia
Ranked by the number of language editions of Wikipedia with an article on each, from Wikidata; the sentences are the openings of those articles, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What Wikivoyage says to see
Abidjan is sometimes referred to as the "Paris of West Africa". During the long and stable rule of the Ivory Coast's Godfather Félix Houphouët-Boigny the city of Abidjan has flourished. However, the political instability and the civil war of the past decade have taken their toll on the city.
- 01St. Paul's Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Paul
- 02National Library of Côte
- 03Banco National Park
A 30 km² national park just north of Abidjan featuring many tropical rare woods (mahogany, avodirés, waffle wood and more).
- 04Museum of Civilizations in Côte
- 05Adama-Toungara Museum of Contemporary Cultures
From Wikivoyage: Abidjan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
There are many places to eat Ivorian food, most of them on the sidewalk or on a small road side terrace. Make sure that you ask about the price before you sit down, in order to avoid lengthy discussions about the price when they try to overcharge you after the meal. The staple foods in the Ivory Coast are rice, cassava, yam and bread. Bread is usually eaten at breakfast or as a supplement to the meal.
- 01Restaurant des Combattants
- 02Chez Georges Hollywood
French and Italian dishes at French prices in a formal setting.
- 03Saarkan
Avenue Chardy face à l'AIP, à la descente de Radio Nostalgie Plateau (on Plateau, near the highway on the eastern side of the peninsula.),.
From Wikivoyage: Abidjan, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Abidjan
- Airports
- Félix-Houphouët-Boigny (ABJ), 13 km
- Stations
- Autonomous Port of Abidjan, 4.1 km
- Kumasi → Abidjan302 km · quickest by air, 6h 51m · GH₵1,070–1,650
- Accra → Abidjan422 km · quickest by air, 5h 25m · GH₵1,210–1,870
- Tamale → Abidjan569 km · quickest by air, 7h 58m · GH₵1,480–2,290
- Plan a tripFrom anywhereThe planner compares every way there from wherever you are.
Road and air are today’s quick answer; timetabled trains, buses and ferries load on the results page from the operators’ feeds.
No local-transport research exists yet for Abidjan
Our researched notes are written from a sourced entry: every shared taxi, boat and village bus with its operator, its rule, its fare and the year we saw it, and what could not be confirmed. Nobody has done that work for Abidjan. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inWhether you're in a private car, taxi, or gbaka (the shared minibuses) you will be stopped at various official (and unofficial) checkpoints where they will delay you at the very least and try to shake down a bribe at the worst.
- Get aroundIf you just need to cross the lagoon and can make use of one of the ferry routes, by all means take it.
- Get aroundYou can take a ferry from the It takes 15 minutes and costs only CFA 150 to get you to A commuter railway system is under construction, the first section is expected to open in 2025.
- Go nextJacqueville - A small, relaxing beach town that sits about an hour from Abidjan with a short, 450-m ferry across the lagoon.
From Wikivoyage: Abidjan, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 011,336 km
- 022,646 km
- 032,867 km
- 043,322 km
- 053,814 km
If you know how people move in Abidjan – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Abidjan
Abidjan is 8 km from Koumassi, the nearest large city, whose note carries the wider picture.