City Rating: Lomé
Population: 4’700’000
Date of visit: January 2018
Attractions & sights: 2/5
Nightlife: ?/5
Safety: 3/5
Infrastructure: 1/5
Low budget factor: 3/5
Total: 👍👍/5
The city in a nutshell:
Authentic African beach city with a village vibe. Lomé is still a relatively untouched city. There are almost no white people in Togo’s capital, which makes the visit an interesting experience. However, Togo’s capital is not packed with sights so that the city can get boring fast.
Where to stay:
It’s best to stay near the beach, but the closer to the beach the more expensive does it get. If you want to take a hotel at the beach keep in mind that you cannot swim in the ocean, as currents are too strong. The exceptions are Robinson beach or Coco Beach.
The Good:
Lomé is a great city to witness the African way of life. The Grand Marché area is the most vibrant area in the city and a great place for strolling around. It’s also a safe area, at least during day time.
The locals are nice and curious. As there are almost no white people in Lomé, the Togolese are looking forward to having a conversation with foreigners. Please note: 95% of the Togolese don’t speak English. Therefore, knowing the basics of the French language is necessary.
The Bad & The Ugly:
800’000 people live in Lomé, but the city still feels like a village. There are not so many things to do in the city so that Lomé can get a bit boring after a while. There are great things to do outside of the city though like visiting the villages or Kpalimé.
What I missed most was an area with bars or restaurants, where you can sit outside watching the people passing by. Speaking about restaurants, Lomé lacks of great restaurants. There are some decent ones but none of them stands out. Nightlife is limited to weekends by the way.
Although the Togolese are very kind people, Lomé becomes dodgy after sunset. Take precautions and avoid some areas (for example near the border to Ghana) at all costs. Generally, I wouldn’t walk around alone at night.
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