Sleep on Gorée after the day-trippers leave

Dakar Music Expo is a four-day music festival and industry meeting at the Institut français du Sénégal, with concerts, showcases, panels and workshops around African and world music. The 2025 edition ran in February and the 2026 edition in late March, so the month shifts from year to year. Check the official site for…

Dak'Art, the Dakar Biennale of contemporary African art, runs its 16th edition from 19 November to 19 December 2026, according to the organizers. Alongside the official programme there is Dak'Art OFF, with independent shows, so exhibitions pop up in galleries and venues across the city. Book rooms early, check the…

Just 4 You, also written Just 4 U or Just For You, is an open-air bar and restaurant on Avenue Cheikh Anta Diop, opposite the university, with live concerts that have ranged from hip-hop to mbalax. Recent listings show the bar and kitchen opening in the early evening and the main concert late at night. Call or check…

The HLM market is Dakar's fabric market, on the street linking Colobane and avenue Bourguiba, a maze of narrow lanes with neon-lit shops selling wax, bazin, voile, lace and embroidery. Festive favorites change by season, and this year shoppers lean towards shiny guipure and getzner. Compare sheen, weight and price…

The Mosque of Divinity in Ouakam stands on the Corniche Ouest almost with its feet in the Atlantic, and its two tall minarets make a strong frame against the sea. Shoot the exterior from the beach side in daylight, ideally outside Friday prayer time, when worshippers in white gather. Dress modestly, keep your camera…

On the ferry to Gorée, a friendly local may offer to guide you, then steer you to shops where he earns a commission. Officially licensed guides wear a vest, and the price is negotiable, so agree it before you start. A casual maybe to visiting a stall can be taken as a promise, so politely say no. Go Tuesday to…

The Musée des Civilisations noires is showing a retrospective of the sculptor Ousmane Sow: about fifty original works from series such as Nouba, Masaï, Zoulou and Peulh, plus the Merci figures honoring Nelson Mandela and Toussaint Louverture. It opened in April 2026 and is planned to run for three years, so it fits…

Dakar hosts the Youth Olympic Games from 31 October to 13 November 2026, and a traffic plan reorganises roads around the Iba Mar Diop complex, the Tour de l'Oeuf and Olympic pool area, the Corniche Ouest and Diamniadio. On the motorway towards the airport, the left lane is reserved for Olympic traffic in the daytime…