114 best things to do in Accra and Ghana

Although it is practically a roadside bar, Auntie Muni’s has earned a formidable reputation in Accra for waakye (waa-chey), a mélange of dark black-eyed beans and rice, with meat and some fish, often eel. Customers queue up at a netted bar to pick from ingredients. Stringy noodles, hard-boiled eggs, various vegetables and hunks of steamed meat tumble in the waakye (only available on weekends) like an ungainly salad. The hub of the assemblage is shitor, a peppery condiment made of chilli, dried shrimp and ginger.

A local Ghanaian restaurant serving banku and tilapia. Philipo’s is set up as a classic roadside bar with a wide-open space under a canopy. It serves banku with a well-garnished tilapia and pepper. Located opposite Jerry’s Pub, Atemuda, East Legon. 

Kenkey Boutique has forged a reputation for serving the hottest kenkey and the freshest fried fish. Food served is prepared on-site and is always hot and tasty. 

Located in Osu, this bar does more than just keep you refreshed – the food served is a local hit too. The tables are always full, the music is loud, and the smell of freshly grilled fish welcomes guests. The most popular dish by far, evident from the long queues, is the banku and tilapia.

A hugely popular venue and probably the best place in Accra to see live music at the moment. This jazz club brings in the best musicians who either live here or are visiting the city. There is decent seating for the audience and a generous outdoor area.

The Accra-based arm of the French cultural centre offers a vast range of artistic activities every week. It excels in live music events, but there are also regular art displays and talks from international artists. One of the best venues in Accra for cutting-edge cultural events. 

Reggae DJs play on Wednesday night near an open bar that is stocked with local and imported beers. There are occasional live bands, as well as acrobats and other entertainment. Reggae groups come from around Accra as well as from neighbouring countries. The beach draws a mix of international students, reggae lovers and Rastafarians. 

We’ll never stop recommending this bar as it remains one of the best bars in Accra, thanks to its relaxed approach to the good things in life: alcohol, fried food and great music. It’s a tiny space that tumbles out onto the street when things really kick off, late on a Friday or Saturday. There’s always live music on a Wednesday too.

This popular restaurant often has live bands, including highlife musicians. The food’s good, but the music’s better. Many sets start with a mixture of reggae and other (random) hits before returning with a highlife set that gets everyone up and dancing. The musicianship is usually excellent.

This German cultural centre has been established in Ghana for over 50 years and offers an impressive array of musical events, art exhibitions, dance and film nights. Links between German art and Ghana are given precedence, whether through sound installations, mixed media pieces, performance art, photography or painting. 

Conveniently situated close to the centre of Osu, Buka is, without question, one of the best lunch spots in the city – and more often than not, has full tables to show for it. Set on the first floor, Buka gives a sense of escape from the throng. The food hinges largely on Ghanaian and Nigerian specialities – dishes include okra stew and eba (a dough ball eaten with stews). 

Despite some stiff competition – not least from Urban Grill, its stablemate in the same group – Santoku remains Ghana’s best restaurant, if not West Africa’s. Dining here is a world-class experience, with expertly trained staff and a blend of well-executed and inventive Japanese dishes that stretch well beyond sushi and sashimi dishes (although these are both fabulous). Santoku also serves some of the best cocktails in town, including ‘saketinis’, best enjoyed on their new, supercool terrace. 

Bistro 22 has a balanced menu with gourmet burgers and local fish dishes. The restaurant's leafy terrace out the back is the perfect spot for an evening dinner or a romantic date location. 

Set in one of the most prestigious spots in the city, overlooking the Polo Club’s playing field, this restaurant has a beautiful atmosphere. It’s one of the most impressive buildings in Accra, making effective use of wood both on the interior and exterior. It’s also refreshingly understated. The recently revised menu is unswervingly Italian, with risottos, gnocchi and ravioli with spinach and ricotta. The steaks and the grilled fish are also excellent. Their service is attentive here as well. 

Le Magellan is an excellent dining-out choice, particularly in the evenings when business colleagues, friends and couples convene to wind down at the end of the day. Service is polite and well-practised, and both the menu – full of pasta, seafood and steaks – and wine list reflect the fact that this remains one of the more upmarket dining options in Accra.

Ghanaians tend to be fans of Indian food, and Heritage often gets pointed to as one of the best curry houses in the capital. The food is equally pleasing, authentic, spicy and taken from a diverse menu of largely North Indian dishes.

Urban Grill is one of those restaurants that breathes quality: the food, the décor and the ambience are all excellent. Essentially a high-end steak house, the meat is corn-fed and imported directly from Nebraska, then cooked over a charcoal grill to perfection. The best steak in Ghana.

La Chaumiere’s sophisticated French dishes have been catering to Accra’s discerning diners for over a decade. It offers a smattering of North African flavours for good measure – dishes such as grouper with harissa and mint yoghurt – but the mainstay is classic and honest French cuisine, from a crispy niçoise salad to a wonderfully thick and sticky onion soup au gratin. It’s popular with visiting dignitaries.

The National Museum is home to some of Ghana’s most absorbing historical finds. This museum allows you to travel through the country’s history from both an archaeological and ethnographic perspective.

The Nubuke Foundation is one of the most important art galleries in the city, dedicated to Ghanaian visual art, culture and heritage. It was set up to provide an artistic space for Ghanaian artists to show off their talents. It also holds vibrant cultural offerings such as poetry evenings, Saturday workshops, art walks, film and music. 

This is one of the original workshops for fantasy coffins that are now collected and exhibited as contemporary art all over the world. Caskets shaped like birds, fish, aeroplanes, shoes, beer bottles, cars and anything else that stretches the imagination are displayed as art and sometimes sold as miniatures.

Along the seafront near Black Star Square is the Arts Centre. Hawkers attack from all sides as soon as you arrive, but if you’re not exhausted by the scrum you can find carvings, baskets, drums, bags, beads, fabrics, sandals, sculptures, stools, rugs and occasionally antiques. Haggling is expected. There’s also an art gallery selling prints and paintings at reasonable prices.

Artists take to James Town’s streets for this vibrant alfresco art festival that spans acrylic street painting, stencil work, sidewalk painting, chalk art and vast graffiti murals. Past events have also featured large art installations, photography displays, live music, DJ sets, and theatre and spoken word performances. The festival takes place along High Street James Town between the Light House and Ussher Fort.

Gallery 1957 is a gallery with a curatorial focus on contemporary Ghanaian art that presents a programme of exhibitions, installations and performances by the country’s most significant artists. 

The hugely respected Ghanaian artist Ablade Glover established this renowned arts venue, which has become one of the most important of its kind in Ghana. There are three expansive floors of art displayed in cool marble galleries. Some are by established artists, such as Owusu Ankomah and George Hughes, whose paintings are reminiscent of Jean Michel Basquiat and Willem De Kooning, while others are by new and upcoming artists like Ebenezer Borlabie. 

Loom’s Frances Ademola has a popular gallery that exhibits paintings and sculptures by a good selection of Ghana’s foremost artists, with a smattering of expressive Nigerian pieces. The modest space has been here since 1969 and is bursting at the seams with the work of nearly 100 artists. 

This multi-faceted workshop-cum-art-shop emporium is foremost a workshop employing artisans who produce characteristically Ghanaian and West African goods. It’s brimming with handmade art objects, collectables, homewares, furniture, handbags, musical instruments and other design products, many created through humanitarian projects in Ghana. 

This German cultural centre has been established in Ghana for over 50 years and offers an impressive array of musical events, art exhibitions, dance and film nights. There’s also a pleasant bar on the grounds. 

A national park erected in memory of Osagyefo (the Messiah) Doctor Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana’s first president and one of its founding fathers. Built on a former British polo field, it was the point where Nkrumah declared independence in 1957. 

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an African-American civil rights activist who became a citizen of Ghana in the 1960s. He was known as the ‘Father of Pan-Africanism’. The centre, where he and his wife once lived and are now buried, houses his personal library, a small museum with a handful of personal effects such as his graduation robes. 

With modernist and Soviet-influenced lines, the stands around Independence Square can seat 30,000 people. The vast area, built under Kwame Nkrumah, is designed for huge events and military marches, but it is usually empty except for a few soldiers sheltering from the sun. The only times the square comes alive are at commercial events such as concerts and fashion shows, which take place throughout the year. 

The National Museum is home to some of Ghana’s most absorbing historical finds. The museum allows travelling through the country’s history from both an archaeological and ethnographic perspective. Much of the display is dedicated to indigenous art and crafts: there are regalia, musical instruments and the all-important royal Asante stools. 

The city was founded by the Portuguese in the 15th century, and the solid white bulk of the castle acted first as a fortified base for overseeing the export of gold and other goods before ‘market forces’ initiated a move into human trafficking. The Castle is now listed as a World Heritage Site and gazing down today from its old ramparts at the late-afternoon hubbub of fishermen and red-dust footballers, it’s hard not to be stirred by the human cost of its past.

Osu Castle is a constant and poignant reminder of the slave trade that was largely administered from the building and was often used to house slaves before they were shipped to the Americas. 

From a historical perspective, Elmina Castle is a key attraction. Like its Cape Coast equivalent, it has strong links with the slave years and is registered as a World Heritage Site.

This colonial-era lighthouse was built in the 1930s. It’s not a tourist attraction in the usual sense – no gift shops or ticket offices here – but stray within twenty metres, and you’ll inevitably be accosted by a ‘guide’ offering to take you to the top for a few cedis. If you’re willing to part with the cash, there’s a good panoramic view from the top of the (possibly not overly safe) spiral staircase.

This casual and well-designed café serves freshly brewed coffee, cold-pressed fruit juices and tasty homemade cakes and desserts. For something more substantial, there’s a great range of salads, sliders and sandwiches. 

This café serves light lunches and brunches. Its sandwiches are popular, especially the chicken, cheese, bacon and avocado version. Apart from these, the lengthy menu also contains rice and chicken dishes, lots of salads, some burgers and a breakfast menu.

Cupcake Boutique has beautifully made and indulgent delights. Popular cupcakes include Bella Nutella and Ruby Red, but for an interesting twist, try the Sweet Dede, a banana-infused cupcake with cream cheese icing and topped with a plantain chip. There’s also excellent coffee and Wi-Fi if you want to sit on the shady terrace.

These guys brew fabulous coffee, and there is fantastic energy in the place. Next to coffee, there is also an appetising array of sandwiches, pastries and muffins.  

Iced cupcakes, golden pastries, crunchy baguettes and bulging paninis are the staple at this very European of cafés. From the humble sausage roll to light and salty spinach and ricotta puff pastry, find a bevvy of bakery favourites chalked up on giant blackboards behind the serving counter. 

The loosely defined borders of Makola Market enclose what might be seen as Accra’s most dynamic commercial hub. It’s certainly one of the most entertaining. Hot, noisy and insistent, it’s an initially bewildering sprawl of kitchenware, jewellery, textiles, shoes and anything else your cedi might conceivably buy, hawked from floors, racks, shelves, ceilings and head-perched baskets. 

This wonderful store is run by the NGO Women in Progress. Everything sold here is fairly traded and made in Ghana. Its clothes for men, women and children of all ages are absolutely gorgeous. 

This multi-faceted workshop-cum-art-shop emporium is foremost a workshop employing artisans who produce characteristically Ghanaian and West African goods.

The KIKI Clothing brand for women is synonymous with style, elegance and simplicity. Through the use of carefully selected West African-inspired fabrics, they create simple yet distinctive pieces with just the right level of detail. 

Elle Lokko is the epitome of urban cool. An exciting hybrid concept space fusing fashion with art, design, and culture, here you’ll find a diverse collection of creative and beautifully designed clothing, hand-crafted luxury shoes and bags, as well as natural organic beauty products. 

This luxury art boutique, set up by Kukua Ampah, has recently opened a branch at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel. Many of the elegant and creative pieces on show are bespoke and adapted by Kukua herself, incorporating the rich cultural influences of West Africa. 

Trashy Bags is an initiative set up in 2008 as a means of recycling and reusing the endless plastic water and yoghurt wrappers deposited on the streets of Accra. The refuse is washed and treated before being stitched together to form bags and accessories.

A design-savvy edit of home accessories, furnishings, art and decorative items can be found inside this vast and airy space, curated by Nada Moukarzel. You’ll find chunky sofas, gilded mirrors, reclaimed leather chairs, eye-catching artwork and some fabulous African-themed ornaments (some by local artists), all wonderful to browse. 

This high-design store stocks clothing and accessories incorporating African prints into wearable high-street trends: think statement jewellery, business chic and cocktail elegance. Since the brand was launched in 2008, the label has appeared on international runways and has been stocked both in Africa and across the world.

A concept store with a myriad of high-end clothing, accessories, art and décor pieces from across the African continent. Featured brands waiting here to tempt you include 1981, Ann Millinery, Bello Edu, Caven Etomi, Totally Ethink, and others.

What started as a grassroots project has become an integral part of the annual Easter celebrations in Ghana. With amazing aerial displays, music and a jovial atmosphere, the festival grows year after year. The idea behind the festival is to have tandem paragliding jumps for visitors and local people so that they may see the natural beauty of the land in a minimal-impact way.

British national Brett Davies (aka Mr Brights) has devoted his life to surfing. After leaving a top-rung job at the head office of Rip Curl several years ago, he decided to take the plunge and open up his own surf school in Ghana (the second love of his life). A formally trained surf coach and lifeguard mean surfers can’t be in better hands to try out Ghana’s exhilarating waves. Beginners to advanced are welcome, as are children, with boards and equipment naturally provided. 

Pippa’s is one of the best gyms in Accra, with a wide range of Life Fitness equipment, air-con, satellite TV and a modern music system. It has a wide variety of activities on offer, including body combat, spinning, pilates, Zumba and modern African dance. For the little ones, there’s a tumble-tots class. 

Opened by Marcel Desailly in 2011, this sporting complex has an almost full-sized pitch, plus three five-a-side pitches. For swimmers, there is a pool and a children's pool. You can also play basketball or play football on floodlit pitches. 

Bliss is a full-service yoga studio at the luxurious Movenpick Hotel. Every type of yoga session can be found here. Popular with expats. 

This FIFA-standard venue hosts national team games and is the home of one of Ghana’s most popular teams, Hearts of Oak. Concerts and other public events are held here too. This is also where the biggest boxing bouts are held.

Anyone interested in hobnobbing with the city’s elite can head to the prestigious Accra Polo Club, located behind the Woolworths building. Originally founded back in 1902, the club is still going strong, attracting moneyed expats from around the world. The polo season starts in September and runs until around Easter. Matches are held every Saturday and Sunday from 3pm. It’s a good chance for anyone new to the sport to learn about polo – local spectators are talkative and will fill you in on the game’s rules and point system. The best bet is simply to turn up – there’s occasionally a charge, especially for the big matches. Several national teams visit Accra every season.

It’s been 80 years since Achimota Golf Club was first opened. Just 10 kilometres outside of Accra city centre, this is a friendly club that is happy to host visitors. The course is an 18-holer with a par of 72.

An hour or so out of Accra is Kokrobite. This small beach town has become a destination for sun-seekers and pleasure seekers. Kids love playing football on the beach. 

The La Palm Kids Theme Park is a pleasant and safe enclosed park right by the main pool, and there’s also a shallow pool well suited to kids. All pool facilities are open to non-residents, and it’s well worth taking up this opportunity.

Backed by 16 acres of palm-studded grounds and a sweeping azure pool, Accra’s luxury bolthole lives up to its hype. The swimming pool is shallow and family-friendly. 

A great place for children under 12, with a large safety-conscious play area and a pretend beauty parlour. There are also video games, books and toys.

There are also floodlit tennis courts, a volleyball court and table tennis equipment; sauna and massage services are also available. The resort has two bars and a restaurant to choose from.

This popular little play area – full of things to ride, bounce on and play with is a shady respite when shopping gets a little boring. It's well-equipped, safe and worth a trip in itself.

This is an impressive minigolf course. The 18-hole golf course has the usual challenges and tricks, and the clubhouse serves snacks and refreshments. There’s also football and regular movie nights.

There’s a children’s play area, although the video games make more of a racket than the kids. There's a little climbing wall at the mall, as well as lots of other games. 

The pool can be used for GH¢30 a day (GH¢20 for children), which also entitles you to use the floodlit football pitches in the evenings. 

Wildlife watching done well with expert guides who will take you on a drive to see animals including kobs, waterbuck, roan antelope, baboons, patas monkeys, guinea fowl, and the park’s famous elephants.

An hour or so out of Accra is Kokrobite. This small beach town has become a destination for sun-seekers and pleasure seekers. The long-established Big Milly’s Backyard has become somewhat of a backpackers' classic – a laid-back hostel with an open bar. The beach is the main attraction – the finest near Accra.

From a historical perspective, Elmina Castle is a key attraction. Like its Cape Coast equivalent, it has strong links with the slave years and is registered as a World Heritage Site, although it tops Cape Coast Castle on age; founded in 1482, Elmina Castle (also known as St George’s) is the oldest extant European building in sub-Saharan Africa. It’s had a few facelifts over the years, and little resembles the original structure, but it still makes for a fascinating (not to mention hugely disquieting) tour. 

Half an hour’s drive from Cape Coast, Kakum National Park’s verdant slice of semi-deciduous rainforest offers a fresh green alternative to the bustling cities and stifling heat of the coast. The 607 square kilometres of protected rainforest are home to an assortment of wild residents, including forest elephants, giant hogs, flying squirrels, leopards and various species of monkeys. However, with much of the elusive wildlife buried deep in the forest’s flora, there’s little chance of seeing anything more than a millipede or two.

Bojo is a delightfully simplistic set-up of sand, water and seating. The current here is powerful – there are lifeguards, but it is advised that only good swimmers go out of their depth in the hardy surf. But what appeals compared to the overall feel of city-front Labadi is that Bojo is well-maintained and clean, and the urban hubbub seems aeons away. 

If you want to discover the Eastern Region, this is the place to stay. The Royal Senchi, a one-and-a-half hours drive from Accra, is a beautiful resort – peaceful and comfortable with everything conspiring to make this a relaxing stay. The resort sits alongside the often mirror-flat Volta river, which serves as the view for all 84 rooms and suites. This is one of the most beautiful areas of Ghana, and taking a boat trip along the river from the hotel to the Akosombo dam is well worth the time. 

From the open-sided restaurant and bar, you can watch island-dwelling locals crab-fishing and clam-diving in the water. The forward-thinking owners offer guided tours to the islands for boat-building and basket-weaving workshops – there’s also a lot of water to play around in on a jet-ski or from one of the pontoons. Game-fishing excursions can be arranged too. Best of all is the option to spend a lazy couple of hours exploring one of the most beautiful areas of Ghana by boat. 

Those willing to splash some cash for the millionaire treatment can stay at the deluxe private members White Sands Beach Club near Fetteh; slide into the infinity pool, sample the top-notch cuisine, and enjoy some of the best service in Ghana. Non-members can visit between Monday and Friday.

The Accra Green Market is Ghana's first 100% local and organic farmer's market. The market links small farmers who use sustainable agriculture practices with consumers in a friendly community gathering. The aim of the community is to promote a healthy lifestyle and to grow produce sustainably. Typical items for sale include herbs, seeds to plant at home, hot peppers, handmade tinctures and oils, fresh fruit, jams and preserves.

This two-day celebration brings the best chefs, the finest Ghanaian cooking and people who love food together for an enjoyable weekend. See traditional dishes cooked alongside contemporary inspirations. Ingredients you are fond of and some you've never thought about making for creative cooking and tasty family meals. The festival is, of course, all about food, but there are also live bands, dance troupes, shopping, handmade items to browse and entertainment for the kids. 

The loosely defined borders of Makola Market enclose what might be seen as Accra’s most dynamic commercial hub. It’s certainly one of the most entertaining. Hot, noisy and insistent, it’s an initially bewildering sprawl of kitchenware, jewellery, textiles, shoes and anything else your cedi might conceivably buy, hawked from floors, racks, shelves, ceilings and head-perched baskets. Evangelical bands play on stairwells, clothes-filled alleys channel you down dead-ends, sea snails fill plastic buckets and rainbows of peppers lie in towering heaps. Forget the camera; it’s best to just slip into the flow and enjoy it for what it is – a colourful open-air department store spread over several blocks.

Kaneshie Market is on the road leading west out of Accra. In character, it’s very much like Makola Market – a sprawling chaos of stalls, shops and street vendors. Everything you could possibly imagine can be bought here. It’s also an important transport hub, with tro tros and regional buses picking up and dropping off passengers. However, if you’re keen to see a market purely for the experience (and it really is an experience), Makola is more accessible.

The Accra Goods Market is a lovely local shopping experience where you can buy clothes, leather goods and other handmade items. Here you can chat with the young and stylish, shop till you drop or just chill out at the food stalls until the sun goes down. A tremendous place for food, fashion, and lifestyle gifts, the market is set up for entrepreneurs to showcase their new products, and it attracts a good crowd of shoppers after unique items and gifts. It is a vibrant and loud place where shouting and bargaining is part and parcel of the terrain, so not ideal for small children.

Buying local and eating fresh has become a global trend, especially in the bigger cities. As a country with a long history of farming, the road from soil to city shouldn't be long in Ghana. The popular home delivery veg box service Urbanbox now has its own weekly market in Dzorwulu, where visitors are free to browse around and buy veggies, herbs, snacks and the rest, knowing the produce is sustainable and fresh. It is a lovely way to spend the day, tasting samples of local products like Ghanaian coffee (worth it alone), sausages, juice and fruits. A few convenience products, such as coconut oil and local black soap, can also be found at the market and online.

With attentive staff and relaxing, polished decor, your visit to this modern spa will be positive. Not only do they have a reliable team of hairdressers, but all other beauty treatments are naturally available, such as eyebrow threading, pedicures, manicures, facials, and massages. Manicures and waxing are also available for men. The spa is located at Lizzie's Sports Complex. 

A stylish salon for people who take their hair seriously. This place knows how to treat every kind of hair. For cuts, colours, and up-dos (especially weddings), Red Ginger can spice up your look. A professional group of ladies on hand for excellent service and hair treatments. They also do hair extensions, as well as regular beauty treatments such as mani-pedis.  

Signature treatments such as nail art and deluxe pedicures have made this salon the go-to place for dedicated beauty lovers. And it's not just hands and feet that get special attention, as the list of treatments includes eyelash extensions, facials, massages and more. There is a hair salon offering haircuts, extensions, and custom-made wigs. Customers can pop in for a trim or book an afternoon for a whole new look. 

For ultimate pampering, head to the Labadi Beach Hotel Spa for the utmost professional spa services. The beauty technicians here know what your skin will need for optimum rejuvenation. Private treatment rooms have shower facilities, and there is a double suite for couples' therapies. Manicures and pedicures are allocated to a special lounge, and make sure to immerse yourself in their spa hydro pool and relaxation area.  

The Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel has one of the best sports facilities in the city right now. Its hugely inviting pool is a great way to cool down on hot days with comfy chairs and waiters whizzing around on inline skates. The pool is large, with a good shallow end for children, and wide enough to do a few token lengths. The gym, overlooking the pool on the second floor of the hotel, is well equipped with all you’d expect, and friendly personal trainers are on hand if you need advice or impetus. There’s a spa and two Thai massage treatment rooms with outstanding masseurs, plus a sauna.

Unisex salon where manicures and massages are in high demand. Other beauty treatments, from waxing to facials, are on the menu.