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Choose your base by noise level. Bonapriso is leafy, quiet and the usual first-stay pick for its easy airport access and restaurants, though you will rely on taxis. Bonanjo is calmer at night and puts the museums and galleries within reach. Akwa is the lively centre, but it is noisy and congested, especially after 6…

Salido, the Salon du livre de Douala, has been held in November, in 2021, 2023 and 2025. The third edition closed on 30 November 2025 at the Palais de la culture sawa, with a book fair, craft and farm stands, workshops and author signings. It is a relaxed way to meet Cameroonian writers and see local crafts under one…

Rencontres photographiques de Douala, known as Repdoul, is a biennial photography and video festival founded by Max Mbakop. The second edition ran in April 2025 with exhibitions, talks and workshops at the Institut francais du Cameroun and the Annie Kadji gallery, under the theme of the city before, now and after…

The Douala Music'Art Festival, DOMAF, runs for four days each November with music, dance, fashion, visual arts and urban sport. The 14th edition was scheduled for 27 to 30 November 2025 across about ten sites, from Bonabéri and Bonamoussadi to the Institut francais, and the 2024 edition ran 14 to 17 November. Venues…

The Colonne Pascale rises 12 metres above the Carrefour Shell roundabout in New Bell, a tower of 76 enamel cooking pots made by Pascale Marthine Tayou and unveiled in 2010. Shoot it in daylight from the edge of the roundabout, since the junction is extremely busy. Ask before pointing your camera at people, and keep…

Festmak, the Festival Makossa, brings the sound born in Douala back to its home city every December. The ninth edition opened on 5 December 2024 at the Institut francais and closed with a free concert in Bonassama, and the tenth was set for 12 December 2025. Programmes shift between venues each year, so check the…

Galerie MAM on Rue Tobie Kuoh in Bonanjo is a contemporary art space of about 300 square metres, open since 1995. It shows established and emerging African artists and has hosted artists in residence, so it is a good way to see Cameroonian art beyond the souvenir stalls. Opening hours are not published online, so…

The national maritime museum sits in a building shaped like a ship's stern at the corner of Avenue des Cocotiers and Rue de l'Hopital. Three floors cover the history of Cameroon's coastal peoples, the slave trade and the German and British colonial periods. It suits a rainy afternoon after the Bonanjo palaces. Check…