Ghana
Accra is where modern Africa announced itself.
On 6 March 1957 Kwame Nkrumah declared Ghana independent from a former polo field beside the Atlantic, and the city still holds the places that tell that story: the mausoleum and museum in Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the vast parade ground of Independence Square with its Black Star Gate, and the home where W.E.B. Du Bois spent his last years. Down on the coast, the fishing community of Jamestown clusters around James Fort and a lighthouse that has watched the harbour since the 1930s, while Makola Market is the loud, generous heart of everyday Accra and Labadi Beach is where the city goes to relax at weekends. Art lovers can browse the three-storey Artists Alliance Gallery, and a short drive into the Akuapem hills brings the cool shade of the Aburi Botanical Gardens, open since 1890. Two to three hours west on the coast road, Cape Coast and Elmina castles and the Kakum canopy walk make the most powerful day trips in the country. This guide shows what to book ahead, how to get around, how many days to give it and where to stay, from a Ridge-district art hotel to a beachfront resort.
Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum
The mausoleum, museum and gardens honouring Ghana’s first president, built on the former polo ground where independence was declared in 1957. The essential first stop for anyone who wants to understand modern Ghana.
Cape Coast Castle
The most powerful heritage site on the Gold Coast, a whitewashed castle above the Atlantic whose dungeons and Door of No Return tell the story of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. About three hours from Accra.
Cape Coast, Elmina and Kakum Day Trip from Accra
A full-day trip from Accra that joins the Kakum rainforest canopy walk with Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle, the two great trading forts of the Gold Coast.
Independence Square (Black Star Square)
Accra’s vast ceremonial parade ground beside the Atlantic, with the Independence Arch, the Black Star Gate and stands for tens of thousands. Free to see and unmissable for its scale and symbolism.
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The mausoleum, museum and gardens honouring Ghana’s first president, built on the former polo ground where independence was declared in 1957. The essential first stop for anyone who wants to understand modern Ghana.
Accra’s vast ceremonial parade ground beside the Atlantic, with the Independence Arch, the Black Star Gate and stands for tens of thousands. Free to see and unmissable for its scale and symbolism.
Accra’s oldest quarter, a Ga fishing community of colourful canoes, murals and colonial buildings gathered around James Fort and a lighthouse that overlooks the harbour. Best on foot with a local guide.
Accra’s great central market, a maze of stalls selling cloth, spices, produce and household goods. A guided walk makes it far easier, and far more fun, to navigate.
The Accra home where the great American scholar and Pan-Africanist W.E.B. Du Bois spent his last years, now a museum and the burial place of Du Bois and Shirley Graham Du Bois. A quiet, deeply moving stop.
Accra’s liveliest public beach, a long, busy stretch of sand on the eastern side of the city with music, drums, football and beach bars. Best for people-watching and a lazy afternoon, less for a quiet swim.
A three-storey gallery in Labadi founded by the painter Ablade Glover, showing and selling contemporary Ghanaian paintings, sculpture and crafts straight from the artists. A rewarding stop for browsers and buyers alike.
A cool, shady hillside garden in the Akuapem hills, open since 1890, with towering trees, a rock garden and bamboo groves. The classic escape from Accra’s heat, often combined with waterfalls and a cocoa farm.
The most powerful heritage site on the Gold Coast, a whitewashed castle above the Atlantic whose dungeons and Door of No Return tell the story of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. About three hours from Accra.
St George’s Castle at Elmina, the oldest European building in sub-Saharan Africa, beside a busy fishing harbour. About three hours from Accra and a short drive from Cape Coast.
A full-day trip from Accra that joins the Kakum rainforest canopy walk with Cape Coast Castle and Elmina Castle, the two great trading forts of the Gold Coast.
Hotels we would book ourselves, from splurges to good-value bases.
Ridge
Accra’s art-led luxury hotel in the Ridge district, with a rooftop infinity pool, a three-floor spa and an in-house contemporary art gallery, within walking distance of the National Theatre and a short drive from Makola.
Check rates →Ridge
A five-star Ridge hotel beside the National Theatre, with a pool, a spa, free airport shuttle and free parking, and Independence Square, Makola Market and the Nkrumah memorial all close by.
Check rates →Labadi
Accra’s classic beachfront resort, with a private beach, two outdoor pools and a swim-up bar, tennis courts, a spa and lagoon fishing, within 20 minutes of the airport and close to the Artists Alliance Gallery.
Check rates →Airport Residential Area
A boutique suite hotel in the Airport Residential Area, 6 minutes from the airport and 2 minutes from Marina Mall, with a spa, a restaurant, two bars, a free airport shuttle and free parking.
Check rates →Central Accra
A big central hotel on Barnes Road, within walking distance of Makola Market and the Nkrumah memorial, with a pool, a gym, tennis, free parking and the best value in the middle of the city.
Check rates →The practical primer for a first visit to Accra: what to book ahead, how to get around, how many days you need and where the independence sights, Jamestown, the markets and the Cape Coast day trips fit.
Where to stay in Accra for every kind of trip: the central Ridge district, the middle of the city, the beachfront at Labadi and the quiet Airport Residential Area, with the best hotel for each.
