Monday 22nd June, 2026

The Paris of West Africa?

None of the organised tours took our fancy in Abidjan, and the only free one was described as strenuous, so we decided to do what we enjoy most – head ashore and explore by ourselves.

I had found and booked a short market tour on Tripadvisor, but we didn’t receive a confirmation and even after several attempts weren’t able to get in touch with the operator.

Our arrival into the port was slightly delayed by fog drifting into the harbour and after having our passports checked by the local immigration authorities who came onboard, we still managed to catch the first shuttle bus into the city centre at 9am. The trip was only a few kilometres, but it proved more exciting than expected!

Heavy rain had fallen overnight, leaving many roads flooded. We once again had a police escort (on a motorbike, with sirens!), although this one took things to a whole new level! At various points we found ourselves travelling on the wrong side of the road, driving through closed streets, and splashing through a flooded underpass. It was certainly not the most conventional bus ride 🙂

Once in the CBD, we spent about an hour and a half wandering around in search of a barber so Dave could get a haircut. Unfortunately, no luck. We did, however, stumble across a huge supermarket, which I always find fascinating. Supermarkets tell you a lot about a country. We stocked up on a few toiletries we were running low on and enjoyed browsing the shelves.

To be honest, the city centre itself wasn’t particularly exciting. It felt considerably more developed than some of the places we had visited over the previous few days, with modern buildings and busy commercial activity, but it was also noticeably littered, particularly with plastic bottles. Seeing so much plastic waste only reinforced my view that the world needs to find a better solution to single-use plastics!

To get back to the port we again had a police escort, this time with two officers on motorbikes. Dave, being Dave, wandered over to chat with them and proudly showed them a photo of his own motorbike. As I said yesterday, he seems to make new friends wherever he goes 😉

As has been the trend on this trip, I like to look at life expectancy as a quick indicator of a country’s overall health and development. Côte d’Ivoire’s life expectancy sits at around 62.5 years, slightly below the African average of about 64 years. The leading causes of death are respiratory infections such as pneumonia, followed by birth complications and stroke. HIV/AIDS also remains a significant challenge, claiming around 12,500 lives each year.

I have also started looking at crime statistics as another way of understanding a country. There is a well-regarded crime index that tracks perceptions of crime and safety around the world. South Africa tops the African list with a concerning score of 74.5 – not a ranking any country would want to lead. Côte d’Ivoire sits 11th out of the 25 African countries listed, with a score of 55.7. Interestingly, Rwanda comes in streets ahead as the safest country on the list with a score of just 26.3, while yesterday’s stop in Ghana ranked second-best at 40.2.

I need my beautiful statistician daughter to do a bit more detailed research (please Victoria), but I was pleased to see Côte d’Ivoire’s crime score has improved slightly from 57.1 in 2024. There is so much data available that I could disappear down a rabbit hole. Population growth, suicide rates, traffic fatalities, homicide rates, average incomes and GDP all reveal different aspects of life. For now, though, I still think life expectancy remains one of the best single measures of how well a country is doing.

A few ‘fun facts’ about Côte d’Ivoire:

• Abidjan where we are is the country’s largest city but not its capital. The political capital is Yamoussoukro.
• With around six million residents, Abidjan is the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, behind only Paris and Kinshasa (Congo).
• The country gained independence from France in 1960.
• Côte d’Ivoire is home to approximately 32 million people.
• Abidjan is often called the “Paris of West Africa” apparently because of its modern skyline, economic importance and vibrant cultural scene.
• It has the largest port on the West African coast.
• The city has quite a bit of modern architecture, something I hadn’t really expected before arriving.

The country’s history since independence has been mixed. Following independence in 1960, Côte d’Ivoire enjoyed several decades of relative political stability and economic growth. However, a military coup in 1999 was followed by civil war in 2002, and further violence erupted after disputed elections in 2010–11. While the country has enjoyed strong economic growth in recent years, political stability is still a work in progress.

One fact surprised me more than others. Côte d’Ivoire is the world’s largest producer and exporter of cocoa beans, exporting billions of dollars worth every year. I had every intention of buying chocolate as souvenirs and gifts until I learned more about the environmental cost. More than 80% of the country’s rainforest has disappeared since 1960, much of it cleared for cocoa plantations. The relationship between our love of chocolate and the destruction of rainforests is ‘food for thought’.

Another thing I learned before arriving is that locals strongly prefer the name ‘Côte d’Ivoire’ rather than ‘Ivory Coast’. In 1986 the government officially requested that all countries use the French name in every language. I will try to use the right name – although it’s not easy to pronounce.

Abidjan may not have been my favourite stop on the trip, and its nickname as the ‘Paris of West Africa’ in my opinion is a bit of a stretch, but it provided another fascinating glimpse into a country with a complex history, economic importance and plenty of contradictions. As always, a few hours wandering around raised far more questions than they answered.

We now have two days at sea. I’ll post a bit more about life onboard during that time, and then again from Banjul in Gambia after we stop there on Thursday. Plenty more fun still to come!

Sara