Porto-Novo
Benin
- Safety rating
- 5.6/10
- Best time to visit
- November to February offers the driest and most pleasant conditions for exploring on foot.
- Population
- 0.3M
Overview
Benin's official capital is a quieter, history-steeped city of Afro-Brazilian architecture, old mosques and royal palaces on a lagoon. Its colonial-era buildings and ethnographic museums reveal the country's layered past.
Top attractions
See the Great Mosque's Afro-Brazilian facade, the Honmè Royal Palace museum and the Ethnographic Museum.
Getting around
Zemidjan motorbike taxis and shared taxis serve the city; the compact center is walkable in cooler hours.