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Freetown
Capital and largest city of Sierra Leone

Freetown

Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone.

Plan a trip to Freetown→From Conakry

It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and political centre, as it is the seat of the Government of Sierra Leone. The population of Freetown was 1,347,559 as of the 2024 census.

Get in

Getting to Freetown

  1. 01
    Freetown International Airport
See

Worth seeing

Many of Freetown's attractions are underdeveloped and not well publicised. The relatively low numbers of tourists visiting has meant there was not adequate incentive or financial reward for developing them. However, there are many hidden gems that can be well worth finding. It is not unusual to be the only visitor to some of them. A visit to the Aberdeen district will give a break from the busy city centre.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Freetown Golf Club

    A round of golf or tennis at the club just off the beach at Lumley.

  2. 02
    Casino Leone

    Search out the remains of the railway infrastructure, from Hill Station, via Congo Cross to the center of Freetown.

Eat

Where to eat

Freetown has many high-quality restaurants, but very little in the tier below that. Being on the Atlantic coast, some excellent seafood is on offer. Barracuda, grouper, and lobster are readily available. Freetown has a large Lebanese community. Consequently, some very good Lebanese food is available at most restaurants. Following the opening of an ice-cream factory, ice cream cafés are becoming popular.

  1. 01
    Crown Bakery Restaurant

    The only "Western" restaurant on the city centre.

  2. 02
    Crown Bakery Express

    Wilkinson Road.

  3. 03
    Diaspora

    2 Pricilla Street (off Shiaka Stevens).

  4. 04
    Roy's Beach Bar

    Lumley Beach Road (Kinston upon Hull Highway).

  5. 05
    Country Lodge Hotel Restaurant

    Excellent views over the city, live jazz on Thursdays.

How locals move

Getting around Freetown the local way

  • Get inSea Bird Express can take you to Murray Town and Sovereign Ferries to government wharf.
  • Get inAnother possibility is on the overloaded Government ferry which runs to the main part of Freetown.
  • Get inA seat on a bus which uses the ferry costs Le60,000.
  • Get inThe ticket for Government ferry costs Le11,000.
  • Get inAlternatively, get in by poda poda (minibus).
  • Get inFrom places in Sierra Leone, along coasts and waterways, it may be possible to get in by speedboat.
  • Get inSeacoach Express have a fast ferry service from Conakry.
  • Get aroundLocal taxis run fixed routes and are shared rides.

From Wikivoyage: Freetown, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.