Togo
Lome
A seaside capital with a vodun fetish market, a cloth market built by the Nana Benz, and Ghana at the end of the beach road.
Lome is Togo's capital and main port, a low-rise city strung along the Gulf of Guinea with the Ghana border at its western edge. Its best-known sight is the Akodessewa fetish market, where stalls of skulls, dried animals and carved charms supply vodun healers, and its Grand Marche is where the Nana Benz, the women who made fortunes trading wax-print cloth, built their name. Palm-lined seafront, German-era churches, open-air maquis and Lake Togo an hour away make it one of the easier West African capitals to settle into.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
French
Currency
XOF
Timezone
UTC
Why you'll love Lome
The fetish market at Akodessewa, stalls piled with dried animal heads, skulls and carved figures supply vodun healers, and a guide explains what each remedy is for
Cloth and markets the Grand Marche is the city's commercial heart, home of the Nana Benz, the women traders who grew rich enough on wax-print cloth to drive Mercedes
Lake Togo under an hour east, pirogues cross from Agbodrafo to Togoville, the lakeside town of shrines that gave the country its name
Evenings outdoors as the heat drops, open-air maquis fill with grilled fish, fufu and cold beer, and the music carries late
Best time to visit
Apr, Jul-Sep, Nov-Dec
29-34° days
6.130° N, 1.216° E
UTC · Africa/Lome
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Weather & when to go to Lome
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Apr, Jul-Sep, Nov-Dec
Watch for Feb extreme heat risk
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Lome
No month is a write-off. The heaviest rain falls in May and June, with a lighter second wet spell around October, and February is the hottest stretch, often under dusty harmattan haze. July and August bring a cooler, drier lull. One caveat holds all year: heavy surf and strong undertow make most of the city beach unsafe for swimming.
Top things to do in Lome
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Akodessewa Fetish Market - vodun remedies and charms
culture arts 👍 PopularLome's most famous sight is a yard of stalls in the Akodessewa quarter east of the centre, laid out with dried monkey heads, skulls, snakeskins and carved figures used in vodun healing. A resident guide walks you through the remedies and what they are for, and a consultation with a healer can follow. Agree on photography before you start.
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Grand Marche - the Nana Benz and wax-print cloth
shopping culture arts 👍 PopularThe central market fills its multi-storey hall and the streets around it with fabric, spices, produce and everything else a city needs. Cloth is its signature, the trade that made the Nana Benz famous: buy a length of wax print and have one of the tailors nearby make it up.
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Palais de Lome - the governors' palace and its gardens
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedThe palace the Germans built for their colonial governors near the seafront, later the seat of the French administration, has been restored as an arts and culture centre. Exhibitions fill the rooms, and its landscaped park is one of the calmest green spaces in the city.
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Sacred Heart Cathedral - German Gothic in the centre
historyBuilt by German missionaries at the start of the 1900s, the neo-Gothic cathedral steps from the Grand Marche is one of the city's landmark colonial buildings. Sunday Mass, with its choirs, is the time to go in.
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Independence Monument - Place de l'Independance
history culture artsThe monument to independence in 1960 stands on its own square in the centre, a tall pale block with a sculpted figure on its face, the work of Togolese artist Paul Ahyi. It is the city's civic centrepiece and an easy stop on a walk around the centre.
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Bè - the old Ewe quarter
culture arts off beaten pathEast of the centre, Bè is Lome's traditional heart, where vodun shrines sit among the houses and a sacred wood is bound up with the quarter's founding. Go with a local guide: it is a living neighbourhood, and some shrines are not for outsiders.
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National Museum - Palais des Congres
history culture artsA small collection in the Palais des Congres covering Togo's peoples through masks, musical instruments, textiles, jewellery and ceremonial objects. An hour is enough, and it helps make sense of what you see in the markets.
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Maquis - fufu, ablo and grilled fish
food nightlife musicLome eats and drinks in maquis, open-air bar-restaurants that stay busy late. Order fufu pounded to order with peanut or palm-nut soup, akoume maize paste with gboma dessi spinach sauce, ablo steamed corn cakes with fried fish, or grilled fish with pepper sauce. Sodabi, the palm spirit, is the local firewater.
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Lome seafront - beach bars and weekend football
scenicThe palm-lined beach road runs the length of the city. At weekends, football games and families fill the sand and beach bars set out tables facing the surf. Enjoy it from the shore: the waves and undertow are dangerous, and the beach is best left after dark.
Best areas to stay in Lome
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Central Lome (Grand Marche to the seafront)
First-time visitors $$Markets, cathedral and colonial landmarks
Explore hotels in Central Lome (Grand Marche to the seafront) →
Eastern seafront
Pools and sea views $$$Big pool hotels facing the surf
Explore hotels in Eastern seafront →
Avepozo
Beach and slow stays $$Beach suburb on the Aneho road
Explore hotels in Avepozo →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Lome
Getting to & around Lome
Getting there
Fly into Gnassingbe Eyadema International on the city's northern side, or come overland along the coast road from Ghana or Benin
Flight
Gnassingbe Eyadema International Airport (LFW)
The airport sits on the northern side of the city, around 15-20 minutes from the centre and the seafront by taxi or hotel pickup, longer at rush hour. It is the home base of ASKY Airlines, so regional connections across West and Central Africa are good.
Coach
Aflao border, western edge of the city
Coaches and shared taxis run the coast road from Accra to the Aflao border, a long half-day; most travellers cross on foot and take a taxi into the centre. Check visa rules for the land border before you travel
Coach
Buses and shared taxis run west from Cotonou in Benin along the coast road via the Hillacondji border and Aneho, around 3-4 hr including the crossing
Getting around
Walking
The centre is compact enough to walk between the market, the cathedral and the seafront, but it is hot, pavements come and go, and a taxi is wiser after dark
Free
Zemidjan (moto-taxi)
Motorbike taxis, known as zemidjans or zems, are everywhere and the quickest way through traffic; agree the fare first and ask for a helmet
TBC
Taxi
Shared taxis run along the main roads and can be hired whole for a private trip; they are unmetered, so fix the price before you get in
TBC
Day trips from Lome
Lake Togo, Agbodrafo and Togoville
Full dayLake and vodun villages
At Agbodrafo, the Maison des Esclaves recalls the slave trade that carried on here after abolition. From its shore, pirogues cross Lake Togo to Togoville, the old town on the far shore that gave the country its name, with a lakeside cathedral, vodun shrines and quiet lanes.
Getting there
car | ferry
About 45 min by car east along the coast road to Agbodrafo, then a pirogue across the lake
Aneho
Half dayOld colonial port town
Squeezed between a lagoon and the sea near the Benin border, Aneho was the seat of German government before Lome. Faded colonial-era houses, lagoon views and deep vodun traditions make it an easy pairing with Lake Togo on the same road.
Getting there
car
About 1 hr by car or shared taxi east along the coast road
Kpalime
1-2 daysForested hill country
Togo's green hill town sits below Mount Agou, the country's highest peak, among cocoa and coffee plantations, with forest walks, waterfalls, butterflies and a busy crafts scene. It is a cooler, slower contrast to the coast and worth a night.
Getting there
car
About 2-2.5 hr north-west by car or shared taxi
A little history of Lome
Ewe settlers founded the first quarters of Lome, tradition says in the 1600s after their migration from Notse, and the name is usually traced to the Ewe for a place among the alo shrubs. It stayed a modest settlement until the late 1800s, when traders gathered here, just beyond the reach of British customs on the Gold Coast. Germany declared a protectorate over the coast in 1884, made Lome the capital of Togoland in 1897, and built the pier, the cathedral and railways running inland.
British and French troops took Togoland in the first weeks of the First World War, and afterwards it was split: the west went to Britain and later joined Ghana, while the east, with Lome, came under French rule. Togo became independent on 27 April 1960 with Lome as its capital. The deep-water port that opened in 1968 made the city a gateway for the landlocked countries to the north, and in 1975 Lome gave its name to the trade and aid convention between Europe and dozens of African, Caribbean and Pacific states.
Ewe settlers from Notse found Bè, by tradition the city's oldest quarter
Gustav Nachtigal signs a protectorate treaty with coastal chiefs, founding German Togoland
Lome becomes the capital of the German colony
British and French forces occupy Lome in the first weeks of the First World War
Togo becomes independent on 27 April, with Lome as its capital
President Sylvanus Olympio is killed in a military coup in Lome
Gnassingbe Eyadema takes power in a coup
The deep-water Port of Lome opens
The Lome Convention is signed between the European Economic Community and African, Caribbean and Pacific states
Know before you go
Payment
Cash preferred
English
Rare
Wifi
Workable
Power
Type C / E
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+228
Extreme heat risk in this window; check current conditions before you go.
FAQs about Lome
▸ When is the best time to visit Lome?
April, July to September, November and December are the most comfortable months, and July and August are a cooler, drier lull between the rains. May and June bring the heaviest rain and October a second wet spell, while February is the hottest month, often hazy with harmattan dust. None of them is a reason to stay away.
▸ Is Lome safe?
Most visits are trouble-free, but take normal city care: watch your bag in the Grand Marche crowds, avoid the beach after dark and take a taxi at night rather than walking. The sea is a real hazard, with powerful surf and undertow. Demonstrations happen from time to time; keep clear of them and check your own government's current advice before you travel.
▸ How many days do you need in Lome?
Two or three days covers the fetish market, the Grand Marche, the Palais de Lome and the seafront, plus a day at Lake Togo and Togoville. Add a night or two in the hills around Kpalime, or continue along the coast to Ouidah and Cotonou in Benin.
▸ What is vodun, and can visitors see it?
Vodun, the religion better known abroad as voodoo, is practised across southern Togo and Benin, centred on spirits, ancestors and healing, and often alongside Christianity. In Lome you meet it at the Akodessewa fetish market and in the shrines of Bè; Togoville and Aneho have more. Go with a guide, ask before photographing shrines or ceremonies, and treat it as a religion, not a show.
▸ Can you cross between Lome and Ghana?
Yes, easily: the Aflao border post is at the city's western edge, a short taxi ride from the centre, and many overland travellers simply walk across. Coaches and shared taxis link the border with Accra along the coast road. Visa rules depend on your nationality and can differ at land borders, so check both countries' requirements before you go, and aim to cross in daylight.
▸ What currency is used in Lome?
Togo uses the West African CFA franc, shared with Benin and its other French-speaking neighbours and pegged to the euro. Cash does most of the work: cards are taken mainly in larger hotels, supermarkets and some restaurants, and ATMs are in the centre. Ghana next door uses the cedi, so sort out money for each side of the border separately.
▸ What language is spoken in Lome?
French is the official language, used on signs and in offices. On the street you hear Ewe and Mina, the everyday language of the coast, and many traders get by in English thanks to the Ghana border, but some French helps a lot. Akpe is thank you in Ewe.