🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Lac Rose (Retba)The pink lake where salt is gathered by hand, an hour from Dakar.
✦ Your self-guided tour
Dakar
Discover the city at your own pace, with your route and your trip essentials in one place.
5 stops · about 5 h 28 · audio guide12 languages
Highlights
5 stops · about 5 h 28 · audio guide
Photos
Photos: Wikimedia Commons (each author credited) and Google.
Dakar: your route
Pay once. Access is saved on this device and sent by email.
5 stops · about 5 h 28 · audio guideTransport on the route: about F CFA 58,200
Included: the full route, audio guide in 12 languages and the travel tools. Not included: museum and monument tickets, transport tickets.
💡 Good to know in Dakar
Practical tips before you step out.
Luggage
Leave luggage at the airport left-luggage desk or a partner storage point on the route (marked ★). Carry only essentials and your passport.
Internet
Outside EU roaming: buy an eSIM before you travel or a prepaid SIM at an official carrier shop (bring your passport).
Payments
CFA francs (XOF) in cash; Wave and Orange Money are widely used. Agree the taxi fare before getting in.
Tipping
Tip 5–10% in restaurants; haggle in markets.
Water
Drink bottled or filtered water and avoid ice of doubtful origin; check that bottles are sealed.
Safety
Use app or hotel taxis, keep your phone away in the street and avoid walking after dark in empty areas. Pushy vendors and «guides» downtown and at the Gorée port: buy tickets only at the counter.
Sockets
Type C/D/E/K sockets, 230 V.
Toilets
Toilets in malls, museums and cafés; some public ones charge a little and paper goes in the bin, not the bowl.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
Safety in Dakar
Emergency numbers, common scams and how to get help. Free for everyone.
Emergency17
Hospital and pharmacy search around the city centre — share your location for results near you.
Look for: Pharmacie ✚
Show this to someone nearby
Au secours ! J'ai besoin d'aide. Appelez la police ou une ambulance, s'il vous plaît.
Common scams and risks
Friendly "guides"
A helpful stranger offers to show you around and you end up in a carpet or souvenir shop. A polite no is enough.
Pickpockets
Crowded trams, metros and queues are their workplace. Bag in front and zipped; phone never in a back pocket.
Phone snatching
Thieves on bikes or scooters grab phones from your hand. Step back from the kerb when using maps.
Taxis
Use official taxi ranks or apps with a fixed fare. Turn down rides offered inside the airport arrivals hall.
After dark
Stay on busy, well-lit streets and use a taxi or ride-hailing app (Uber, Bolt) for longer trips at night. Keep phones and jewellery out of sight in empty areas.
👜 Watch your wallet in
Sandaga Market · Gorée ferry port · Plateau
🌙 At night, take extra care in
Empty Corniche · Beaches at night
Keep a photo of your passport on your phone, carry just one card and some cash, and stick to busy, well-lit streets.
ⓘ Practical information compiled from official and public sources in October 2026. Not yet checked on the ground in this city — if something has changed, use “Report a problem”.
General guidance. If you're in danger, call 17 now. · Dakar
Everything in Dakar
All the useful things in one place.
🆕 Today in Dakar
Friday 23 October · updated automatically every day
29° – 31°Little chance of rain
Experiences in Dakar
Moments, fun and events, picked for you.
Your interests
🌙 At night
Live mbalaxThe sabar-drum music of Youssou N'Dour, in Dakar clubs at weekends.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Surf and pirogue at NgorWaves for every level and Ngor Island five minutes away by pirogue.
🕐 Flexible — check opening times
Thiéboudienne for lunchThe national dish of rice, fish and vegetables, traditionally shared from one platter.
🌅 At sunset
Sunset on the Corniche OuestOutdoor gyms and wrestlers training by the Atlantic.
🏛️ History & culture of Dakar
How the city came to be, in a few minutes of reading.
Dakar ( UK also: ; French: [dakaʁ]; Wolof: Ndakaaru) is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 million in 2023.
Dakar is situated on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Africa. Cap-Vert was colonized by the Portuguese in the early 15th century. The Portuguese established a presence on the island of Gorée off the coast of Cap-Vert and used it as a base for the Atlantic slave trade. France took over the island in 1677. Following the abolition of the slave trade and French annexation of the mainland area in the 19th century, Dakar grew into a major regional port and a major city of the French colonial empire. In 1902, Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa.
Read the full history
Dakar ( UK also: ; French: [dakaʁ]; Wolof: Ndakaaru) is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 million in 2023.
Dakar is situated on the Cap-Vert peninsula, the westernmost point of mainland Africa. Cap-Vert was colonized by the Portuguese in the early 15th century. The Portuguese established a presence on the island of Gorée off the coast of Cap-Vert and used it as a base for the Atlantic slave trade. France took over the island in 1677. Following the abolition of the slave trade and French annexation of the mainland area in the 19th century, Dakar grew into a major regional port and a major city of the French colonial empire. In 1902, Dakar replaced Saint-Louis as the capital of French West Africa. From 1959 to 1960, Dakar was the capital of the short-lived Mali Federation. In 1960, it became the capital of the independent Republic of Senegal. Dakar will host the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics, becoming the first city in Africa to host an Olympic sporting event.
💬 What travellers say about Dakar
Tips, experiences and questions from people who've been there.