Things to do in Togo
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Alt München
A Bavarian restaurant just east of Hôtel Mercure-Sarakawa, offering a good selection of German beers and hearty European dishes such as goulash and knuckle of pork.
reviewed
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China Town
This surprisingly unkitsch, air-conditioned Chinese restaurant, with a well-stocked bar, is at the southwest end of the boulevard.
reviewed
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Village Artisanal
At this easy-going centre you'll see Togolese artisans weaving cloth, carving statues, making baskets and lampshades, sewing leather shoes and constructing cane chairs and tables - all for sale at reasonable fixed prices. Lomé is famous for leather sandals; they were originally all made at the Village Artisanal, but you can also buy them around the Grand Marché.
reviewed
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Greenfield
Tucked away off Route de Kpalimé, near Tokoin Hospital, this funky French-owned garden bar-restaurant is decorated with dancing Keith Harring figures and colourful lanterns. It is family-friendly, with a menu for children and teenagers, and films screened for youngsters on Saturdays, in addition to the adult films on Tuesdays and live jazz.
reviewed
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Café Panini
- Lomé, Togo
- Entertainment › Bar
In the words of one French drinker we encountered here, Panini is 'the arse of the chicken' - the gloriously sleazy epicentre of Lomés nightlife. Avoid if you object to being hustled by multilingual prostitutes.
reviewed
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Librairie Bon Pasteur
Lomé's best bookshop, a block west of the cathedral. It sells maps and, occasionally, English publications like the International Herald Tribune and Time.
reviewed
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Brochettes sur la Capital
This Lomé institution is the city at its best - enjoy sitting outside eating lip-smacking kebabs and watching the boulevard hustle by.
reviewed
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Boston Maquis
- Lomé, Togo
- Restaurants › Café
You can get good, cheap food at this friendly restaurant opposite Centre Culturel Français.
reviewed
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Tamberma Valley
It would be a crime to visit Togo and not check out this amazing valley. Its unique collection of fortified villages were founded in the 17th century by people who fled the slaving forays of the Benin's Dahomeyan kings.
The valley was isolated until recently but is now the closest thing northern Togo has to a tourist hotspot, with the attendant overzealous guides.
A typical Tamberma compound, called a tata, consists of a series of towers connected by a thick wall with a single entrance chamber, used to trap an enemy so he can be showered with arrows. The castle-like nature of these extraordinary structures helped ward off invasions by neighbouring tribes and, in the late…
reviewed
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Marché des Féticheurs
The Marché des Féticheurs, 4km northeast of the centre, stocks all the ingredients for traditional tonics and fetishes - porcupine skin, warthog teeth, donkey skull, serpent head, horse hair, parakeet tail, thunderstones and chameleons. You can also buy ready-made grigri charms, such as the lovers' fetish and the 'telephone' fetish for travellers. Stock is sourced all over Africa and some visitors may feel uncomfortable buying the parts of lions, panthers, antelopes and buffalo, or rare species.
The market is an overpriced tourist trap, but is still worth a visit. To get there charter a taxi or a taxi-moto.
reviewed
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Grand Marché
Lomé's Grand Marché is a great place to get a sense of what Togo is all about. It is colourful, noisy, crowded and buzzing, not the place for genteel browsing but rather for intense haggling with the often formidable female marketeers, named Mama Benz, after their favourite motors.
This is the place to pick up everything from Togolese football tops to something exotic for a picnic. One of the most sought after items on offer is wax cloth, sold by the 2m pagne - the amount needed for a complete outfit - and available in a variety of bright colours.
reviewed
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Dakar To Ghana
- The Gambia, Togo, Senegal, Dakar, Benin, Guinea Bissau, Ghana, World
- Tours › Overland
by Intrepid
Not LP reviewed
from USD$5,360 -
from USD$1,905
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Akloa Falls
Togo's best waterfall is the 35m (115ft) Akloa Falls. It's like something out of a shampoo commercial: water gushing down a cliff, and people frolicking in the pool below, surrounded by lush vegetation. The falls are accessed via a strenuous climb that follows the Domi River and passes through coffee fields, pineapple plantations and a butterfly garden.
reviewed
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Rue des Artisans
Close to Grand Marché is this relatively low-pressure place to buy woodcarvings and brasswork - including some fetching malachite jewellery - from Burkinabé, Senegalese, Nigerian and Malian traders. The short street is east of Hôtel du Golfe, with some private art galleries at the north end. Come with your haggling cap firmly on.
reviewed
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Musée National
The entrance to the Musée National is at the back of the Palais du Congrès in Place de l'Indépendance. It houses historical artefacts, pottery, costumes, musical instruments, woodcarvings and traditional medicines, plus 'thunderstones' (large rocks shaped like eggs) and cowrie shells, both formerly used as legal tender.
reviewed
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Chez Alice
To party long into the night, take a bush taxi to Chez Alice in the village of Avéposo, about 12km from the heart of Lomé on the coastal highway to Aného. This German-owned joint, popular with overlanders, hosts barbecues or fondue feasts with traditional music and dancing on Wednesday from 20:00. Meals are available.
reviewed
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Grand Marché
This is the place to pick up everything from Togolese football tops to wax cloth (sold by the 2m pagne - the amount needed for a complete outfit - traders sometimes refuse to sell less than this as it's not always easy to shift the rest).
reviewed
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Keur Rama
This restaurant, on the eastern side of town near the Nigerian embassy, offers Senegalese and Togolese cuisine. Try the delicious chep boudjen (fish cooked with cabbage, eggplant and carrots).
reviewed
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Restaurant la Pirogue
In the words of the head waiter at this friendly restaurant near the ocean, the food comes from Togo, from Vietnam, and from the sea. Try the agouti - a rodent called 'grasscutter' in English.
reviewed
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L'Okavango
Opposite UTB bank, not far from the beach, L'Okavango is a regular pleasure garden, with animals frolicking among the bushes and a good selection of dishes and obscure beers.
reviewed
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Henry Loí'c
French biologist and lover of the piste(rough trails) Henry Loí'c offers 4WD tours to secluded local sights such as turtle beaches, and further afield.
reviewed
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Club Hippique
- Lomé, Togo
- Activities › Tennis
There are tennis courts at the large hotels and horse riding can be organised through Club Hippique, located near the airport, or through Hôtel Mecure-Sarakawa.
reviewed
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L'Abeille d'Or
This air-conditioned patisserie and restaurant, on the 1st floor of the Immeuble Taba, behind Hôtel Palm Beach, is popular with the Lebanese community.
reviewed
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Ristorante Da-Claudio
This restaurant, owned by an Italian-Togolese couple, is a great place to sample traditional Italian fare, with both air-con dining and a relaxing terrace.
reviewed
