Togo's capital Lomé, chosen for the nightlife loving traveller wanting an introduction to West African music, culture and joy of life. And Lomé has its beaches and sights as well.
Nightlife in French speaking West Africa is one of the world's leading tourist attractions providing a memory for life. But which city to recommend?
Before we dive into Togo's coastal metropolis Lomé, let us say a few words about West African nightlife in general. In the non-Muslim part of the region, alcohol consumption is often high, attitudes are mostly liberal, music is load, happy and hypnotising, crowds are dense, animated and positive towards visitors, dancing is obligatory and you are bound to get to know people.
There is a small distinction between nightlife in Francophone and Anglophone West Africa, which however should not be exaggerated. While partying in the former British colonies focuses a bit more on intoxication, the French ex-colonies focus a bit more on the cultural setting, including dance and music. But both factors play a key role all over the region.
So, again, how to choose a good West African party city? There are many good candidates, although some are too unsafe for first-time visitors (Abidjan, Lagos, Douala and Yaoundé), while others are small or lacking sights (Libreville, Malabo and Cotonou). We must however mention two very good candidates: Douala and Accra.
Douala, the unpretentious but energetic largest city of Cameroon, still has the hottest nightlife in all West Africa. If you can live with high crime rates and a lack of major sights, Douala's Akwa, Deido and Bonapriso quarters at night will give you a party experience to remember the rest of your life.
In Anglophone West Africa, Ghana's capital Accra is the most vibrant and safest nightlife destination. From Thursday throughout Sunday, many of Accra's bars, clubs and restaurants present live music or just turn into party spots. Although Nigeria's Lagos may be even livelier and Sierra Leone's Freetown is starting to enter the competition, Accra by night remains a safer destination for visitors.
Among the predominantly Muslim cities of West Africa, Senegal's Dakar is an evergreen with lots of sights, which however has lost most of its earlier sparkling nightlife scene. Guinea's Conakry may be evolving into a new hotspot, but still has a way to go. Burkina Faso' Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso are rewarding.
Togolese capital Lomé is mostly a safe choice. Lomé has a friendly ambient and an astonishing density of African and international bars, clubs and restaurants. And it has maintained a strong sense of local culture, including original voodoo.
A smooth introduction to Lomé's nightlife may be the international scene, dominated by expatriates and upper class Togolese. Larger hotels often arrange beach parties and entertainment typically includes traditional dances, magicians and fire artists. This may provide you with a first glimpse of Togo, but it of course does not represent real life in the city.
After acclimatisation, start out in a neighbourhood dancing pub and move on to the lively African clubs in the city. The Rue de la Gare in the city centre is a good street to get to know genuine Togolese nightlife after midnight. More posh clubs are found in an around the Boulevard du 13 Janvier, the large centre by-pass road.
When moving around during night in the city centre, be careful to go in groups or using public transport. Take a taxi or use the cheaper taxis collectives (shared taxis). Lomé is not a crime hotspot, but robberies are a problem at night.
Lomé is also an exiting day-time destination and a perfect introduction to the African city. There are some remnants of colonial architecture, including a surprising Gothic style cathedral. The centre is colourful with narrow streets and markets. Modern African buildings along grand boulevards dominate the outer centre.
There are some truly exotic sights in the old centre of Lomé. These include the colourful and sometimes grotesque Fetish Market, where you will find everything you never knew you needed to make magic charms or heal any disease. The Lomé Marché des féticheurs indeed is the biggest of its kind and a meeting point for voodoo practitioners from the entire West African region.
Less exotic but equally colourful is the Grande Marche, the Great Market, occupying an entire block in the city centre. Apart from the very wide line of products offered by the market women - a sight in itself - the market is always full of life,including live performing music, dancing and magician groups. During daylight, it is a unique spot to experience West African culture, but the market should be avoided at night for security reasons.
Togo is a country with a narrow coastline, squeezed between Benin and Ghana and lying along the Lagos-Abidjan highway. This means that a stay in Togo easily can include trips to Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Benin and/or Nigeria. If you want to compare Lomé's nightlife with competitors, a weekend in Ghana's capital Accra, with its many sights, is a very good option. Accra is located 200 kilometres west of Lomé, while Cotonou in Benin is located 150 kilometres east of Lomé.
This of course also means that you have a wider choice looking for flights to the area, as you can choose between the Lomé, Cotonou (mostly from Paris) or even Accra (easier from UK and US) flight connections. Accra typically has the cheapest transcontinental flights to the region.
Going to Togo, unfortunately you need to be aware of the political situation and you should do some research. The country is heavily politically polarised, and whenever there is an election, there is a great risk of violence. So do avoid travelling to Lomé during an election campaign or shortly after polls, and if you see demonstrators in the street, leave the scene as quickly as possible!
This said, Togo has successfully entered a democratisation and political reconciliation process, and trend is going towards ever calmer elections and political normality. The worst definitively seems to over.
Tourism still is very limited due to the country's recent political turbulence. Indeed, Lomé is among the least visited coastal cities of West Africa, giving it an even more authentic feeling, leaving the Togolese to especially welcome foreign travellers and keeping tourism related crime at a very low level.
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