Arts Centre: walk past the entrance hassle to the back

From mid-December to New Year, Accra fills with concerts, beach parties, art shows and cultural events known as Detty December. In 2025 the Ghana Tourism Authority backed a month-long December in GH programme of more than 100 events nationwide, from Afrofuture and AfroBeach festivals to a highlife centenary…

+233 Jazz Bar & Grill in North Ridge, formerly Bassline Jazz Club, is Accra's long-running room for live bands playing highlife, blues and jazz. It hosted The Ghana Jazz Experience for International Jazz Day 2026 with Gyedu-Blay Ambolley and his Sekondi Band, so it is clearly still active. Go on a band night, check…

Osu puts you on Oxford Street, walkable and busy, with street art, bars and a mix of budget and luxury stays, though petty theft is reported so stay alert at night. Labone is calmer and artsy with some of the best-value rooms, and Cantonments is polished and quiet. Airport Residential suits an early flight. East Legon…

Filming at protected sites such as Osu Castle, Flagstaff House, ministries and prisons needs national security clearance, and the castle needs a separate heritage permit, so keep cameras away from government buildings. The UK advisory also warns of self-appointed officials who charge fees to photograph well-known…

At Kotoka International Airport, thieves have posed as porters, officials or drivers to get hold of bags and documents. Genuine airport staff wear ID cards showing a name and a photograph, and a card without a photo is not valid. Say no to unsolicited help, keep your bags with you, and ask any driver for ID that…

Kantamanto, Accra's huge secondhand clothes market, burned on the night of 1 January 2025 and traders have rebuilt it. It reopened in 2025 with new wiring, fire extinguishers, trained fire wardens and a security force, and overnight stays are now prohibited, so go in daylight hours. Wander section by section and take…

The W.E.B. Du Bois Memorial Centre in Cantonments is under renovation, and in October 2026 the bungalow where Du Bois lived was reported closed to visitors. A photograph exhibit tracing his life from the United States to his final years in Accra was shown on a recent visit, but check what is open to the public. Ask…

Legon Botanical Gardens lies off Atomic Haatso Main Road at Agbogba Junction, about five minutes from the University of Ghana main entrance. It has a 138 m canopy walk set 13 m above the ground, a high ropes course, canoeing around islands and bird watching, enough for a relaxed half day. Plan the visit for Wednesday…