Things to do in Lomé
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Lomé
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
The main dry season and the best window, drier and slightly cooler with roads at their best.
Harmattan season, when dry Sahara dust lowers humidity but hazes the sky and can trouble asthma.
The hottest weeks before the rains, with Independence Day ceremonies on 27 April.
The main rains, peaking in June, when roads degrade, malaria risk rises and waterfalls run at full flow.
The cooler little dry break in the south, the best month if you must come in the wet half of the year.
Second rains, green hills, and the Epe-Ekpe festival at Glidji near Aného in September.
What's on
- Independence Day 27 April
The national holiday, with official ceremonies around Independence Square in Lomé and offices closed.
- Epe-Ekpe (Ekpessosso) September, exact date set locally
The Guin new year at Glidji near Aného, centred on the taking of the sacred stone from the sacred forest.
- Vodun Day in Ouidah 10 January
The great Vodun festival is in Ouidah in Benin, reached from Lomé on January tours, not in Togo itself.
Best things to do in Lomé
Palais de Lomé
A restored governors palace turned art centre, with contemporary Togolese shows and the best gardens in the city.
Akodessewa Fetish Market
The largest Vodun fetish market in the world, where a guide turns stalls of herbs and charms into a lesson in belief.
Grand Marché
Lomé's great market and the home of the Nana Benz cloth traders, best explored in the morning with a local guide.
Musée International du Golfe de Guinée
A private collection of West and Central African art where the guided explanation lifts it above a simple browse.
Musée National du Togo
Two small rooms of ethnography and history that give the rest of Lomé its context for almost no money.
Cathédrale Sacré-Cœur de Lomé
The German era red brick cathedral by the Grand Marché, a cool and quiet pause after the market's intensity.
Monument de l'Indépendance
Togo's independence monument in landscaped grounds, the city's frontispiece and best early or late photo stop.
Village Artisanal de Lomé
State run artisan workshops selling carving, leather and batik at fair prices without the market's pressure.
Where to stay in Lomé
Plateau and Place de l'Indépendance
first trips, business and sightseeing without long taxi rides
The monumental centre, with the palace, museums and independence square nearby, and quiet streets at night.
Kodjoviakopé and Boulevard du Mono
sea views and mid range reliability
Beach road hotels with pools and sea air, where the beach is for looking at and taxis are used after dark.
Tokoin and Cité OUA
food led trips, repeat visitors and longer stays
The residential and commercial band holding the best small restaurant and the diplomatic quarter's guesthouse.
Baguida
a beach led second half of a trip and families
A beach suburb 13 km east with beach clubs and sand, a long drive from every central sight.
Think twice about
- Assigamé and the Grand Marché perimeter
Visit the market by day with company and do not base or walk home here at night.
- Bè lagoon edge and unguarded public beach stretches
Public beaches and the beach road carry elevated theft risk, including by day where there is no security presence.
- Ghana border strip at Kodjoviakopé after dark
The border area is patrolled and flagged as higher crime, and should be avoided after dark.
Best restaurants in Lomé
Songhai
The city's top rated restaurant, Chinese and Thai cooking in an elegant room for the dressed up dinner.
La Table du DG
A French chef owner cooking a short weekly menu in a Tokoin garden, and explaining each dish himself.
Namiélé
The fine dining room inside the Hôtel 2 Février, the good dinner on the Plateau's quiet streets.
Akwaba Pool Bar & Grill
Grills and international plates by a hotel pool, at a pace that turns lunch into the afternoon.
Côté Jardin
French and European cooking in a large, airy garden, a fixture of Lomé family and expatriate dining.
Alt München
German and French cooking in a garden near the port, a survivor of Lomé's older dining scene.
Pure Plage Restaurant
French beach cooking on the sand at Baguida, loungers under palms and a long lunch by the sea.
Blue Turtle Bay
A seaside restaurant by the port with burgers, pizza and grills, sea access and occasional live music.
Outdoor things to do in Lomé
Mount Agou
Togo's highest peak, climbed on foot through coffee and cocoa farms and villages for views towards Ghana.
Cascade de Womé
A forest waterfall near Kpalimé reached by steep steps, with a plunge pool you can swim in after rain.
Lake Togo
Cross Lake Togo by pirogue to Togoville, the treaty town where Vodun is lived openly and history is on the shore.
Coco Beach
Lomé's protected beach, where rocks break the Atlantic current enough to make swimming possible.
Aného
A quiet former capital between lake and sea, with colonial houses, a fishing port and the lake mouth.
Golf de Lomé
Lomé's golf round in Agoènyivé, best arranged through a hotel concierge who can confirm fees and club hire.
Club Hippique du Togo
Lomé's riding club, with horses and a climbing wall that make it the easiest active outing for families.
Best hotels in Lomé
Hôtel 2 Février
Lomé's landmark five star tower on Independence Square, with a pool, spa, sky bar and the city's default luxury rooms.
ONOMO Hotel Lomé
The dependable mid range chain hotel on the beach road, with modern rooms, a pool and a garden terrace.
Hôtel du Golfe
A clean, spacious budget hotel in the centre, a short walk from the Grand Marché and the cathedral.
Hotel Sancta Maria
A beach road business hotel with a pool and garden terrace that reviewers call the boulevard's pleasant surprise.
Le Patio
A small luxury guesthouse in Cité OUA, with a handful of rooms around a tropical garden and a turquoise pool.
CIKA Golden Hotel and Suites
A newer four star on Boulevard du 13 Janvier, with suites and free breakfast at mid range prices.
Hotel Petit Brussel
A beachfront hotel at Baguida Plage with direct sand access, pools, hammocks and a free airport shuttle.
Is Lomé expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | F CFA 22,000 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | F CFA 55,000 a person |
| Splurge | F CFA 140,000 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Mowoki Tours: a few days ahead
- Mount Agou: a few days ahead
- Cascade de Womé: a few days ahead
- Lake Togo: a few days ahead
- Golf de Lomé: a few days ahead
- Hôtel 2 Février: weeks ahead
- Le Patio: weeks ahead
- Songhai: a few days ahead
- Book La Table du DG and Songhai at weekends a few days ahead, both rooms are finite.
- Arrange guides for the Palais de Lomé and the fetish market ahead, because the person is the product.
- Book the good private day tour operators a week ahead in the November to February peak.
- Confirm the National Museum is open before a Palais des Congrès morning, as closures have been flagged.
Is Lomé safe?
- The far north beyond Kandé carries terrorism and kidnapping risk: do not travel there.
- Avoid public beaches and Boulevard du Mono on foot at night, and the Grand Marché area in the evening.
- Use ATMs only in daytime in busy guarded places, and do not display wealth or resist a robbery.
- Carry your passport or a copy at all times, as Togolese law requires it and checks happen.
Lomé travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Swimming in the sea off the city beach, where the undertow is dangerous and there is no lifeguard service.
- First quoted prices to visitors in the Grand Marché and at the fetish market, which are opening positions.
- Buying animal products at Akodessewa at any price, some are from endangered species and will not clear customs.
- Expecting a club strip, bottle service beach clubs or a café scene that Lomé does not have.
Getting around Lomé: public transport and more
- Hire a car and driver by the day through your hotel or a local operator, it is the transport system working as intended.
- Agree every taxi and zemidjan fare before the ride, and carry small notes.
- Walk in clusters such as the Plateau sights or the cathedral and market, and ride between clusters.
- Leave before 6am for Kpalimé, which is two and a half to three hours each way on a good run.
Who Lomé suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Lomé your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App Store