Bissau
Bissau is the capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau.
Bissau is the capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. As of 2015, it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's major port, as well as the country's administrative and military center.
Adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Worth seeing in and around Bissau
7 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.
- 01The Cathedral of Bissau
Bissau Cathedral, also known as Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Candelária is a Catholic cathedral in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau. It is the centre of the Catholic Church in Guinea-Bissau.
200 m · The Cathedral Church in Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia - 02Estádio 24 de Setembro
24 September Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bissau, Guinea Bissau. The stadium opened its doors in 1989.
2 km · building in Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia - 03National Library of Guinea-Bissau
The Biblioteca Pública do INEP is the national library of Guinea-Bissau and it is located in Bissau. It is also the biggest public library in the country and serves as library of the Universidade Amílcar Cabral.
2.9 km · national library, university library, public library · Wikipedia - 04Universidade Colinas de Boé
The Universidade Colinas de Boé is a private institution of higher education in Guinea-Bissau. It was founded in September 2003 and the first university in Guinea-Bissau, just before the creation of the Universidade Amílcar Cabral, the only public university in the country.
6.7 km · Private university in Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia - 05Estádio Lino Correia
Estádio Lino Correia is a multi-use stadium in Bissau, Guinea Bissau. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as the stadium of Estrela Negra de Bissau of the Campeonato Nacional da Guiné-Bissau.
300 m · building in Africa · Wikipedia - 06Fortaleza de São José da Amura
Fort São José of Amura, also known locally as Amura Fort, is a fortification located in the city of Bissau, region of Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau, in West Africa.
500 m · fort in Bissau, Guinea-Bissau · Wikipedia - 07Museu Etnográfico Nacional da Guiné-Bissau
National Ethnographic Museum is the national ethnographic museum of Guinea-Bissau. It is situated in Bissau, and is one of two major museums in the country.
3 km · museum in Bissau · 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
- 01Presidential Palace
Reconstructed in 2013 with Chinese money, serves again as the president's seat.
- 02São José de Amura
Old Portuguese fort, containing the mausoleum of national hero Amilcar Cabral and tombs of other revolutionaries.
- 03National Ethnographic Museum
From Wikivoyage: Bissau, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Things to do
The French Cultural Center in the Bayana roundabout often features concerts, movies, dance classes, French classes etc. The Portuguese Cultural Center (next to the Portuguese embassy, behind "Benfica") also hosts concerts, but in slightly less inviting surroundings. Swim at Ceiba Hotel, Hala Hotel, Azalai Dunia Hotel or Campo Sueco (CFA 3000 - somewhat more noisy and crowded, but more African atmosphere).
From Wikivoyage: Bissau, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Where to eat
Recidencial Coimbra has a good buffet every night at CFA 2000-7500 including starters, main courses, desserts, wine and water. Hotel Malaika. Has a nice restaurant inside, but also a roof top restaurant for drinks and fast food style meals. O Bistro - Belgian owned restaurant next to Mavegro, delicious food. Bijados (inside Azalai Dunia Hotel). Good restaurant, and excellent service, but somewhat overpriced.
From Wikivoyage: Bissau, CC BY-SA 4.0. Not yet checked by us.
Getting to Bissau
- Airports
- Osvaldo Vieira (OXB), 9 km · Banjul (BJL), 201 km
- Stations
- Osvaldo Vieira International Airport, 8.6 km · Port of Bissau, 1.1 km
- Banjul (Yundum) → Bissau200 km · quickest by road, 5h 9m · $22–30
- Conakry → Bissau333 km · quickest by air, 5h 1m · $200–300
- Dakar → Bissau373 km · quickest by air, 6h 31m · $260–380
- 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 Bissau
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 Bissau. What is above is what we hold from open sources; nothing here pretends to be more.
- Get inA sept-places (7-seat shared taxi) from Ziguinchor, Senegal, costs CFA 4,000.
- Get aroundThere are also minibuses "toca-tocas" going on fixed routes, you'll pay CFA 100 a person for the ride, but the buses are often very crowded!
- Go nexttake a pirogue directly for CFA 3500 (luggage excluded, takes 2.5 hours), or the ferry to Enxude (CFA 9000), then the truck/bus to São João, then a Pirogue to Bolama (CFA 300).
From Wikivoyage: Bissau, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us; that article was last edited 2026-09.
- 011,183 km
- 022,447 km
- 032,780 km
- 042,793 km
- 053,808 km
If you know how people move in Bissau – the stand, the rule, the fare – tell us, and the note gets an entry.
Next door to Bissau
- Cumeréhuman settlement in Guinea-Bissau7 km