Grand-Bassam: a UNESCO-listed colonial town near Abidjan, how far and what to see

Head east from Abidjan and, in under an hour by car, you reach a seaside town that has kept a wealth of colonial-era buildings: Grand-Bassam. It was the first capital of Côte d'Ivoire (in West Africa, French-speaking, the world's largest cocoa producer), and in 2012 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as the "Historic Town of Grand-Bassam".

From capital to World Heritage site

The first settlement here was founded by the N'zima people in the mid-15th century. From 1893 to 1900, Grand-Bassam was the capital of colonial Côte d'Ivoire under French rule, as well as its most important port and its economic and judicial centre. A yellow fever epidemic in 1899 killed many residents, and the administrative centre was subsequently moved to nearby Bingerville. After independence in 1960 the town went quiet for a long time, and only from the late 1970s did it gradually revive through tourism and crafts.

UNESCO inscribed it on the basis of two criteria: first, that it bears witness to the cultural traditions of a colonial capital and regional trading hub; and second, that it is an outstanding example of rational colonial-era urban planning. In concrete terms, the assessors valued its intact urban layout, with clearly separated commercial, administrative, European and African residential quarters, and its buildings, which mostly feature galleries, verandas and courtyards in a simple, functional style designed for the tropical climate. The listed area also includes the traditional N'zima fishing village, which illustrates the original local form of settlement. Between the 1880s and the 1950s, the town brought together residents from Africa, Europe and the eastern Mediterranean, and it later became an important stage for the independence movement.

How far from Abidjan, and how the town is laid out

Grand-Bassam lies about 45 km east of Abidjan, roughly 45 minutes by car, and can be reached from Abidjan by shared taxi and bus, making it ideal for a day trip. It is also a sizeable town, with an urban population of about 75,000 at the 2014 census.

The town is split in two by the Ébrié Lagoon, and the mouth of the Comoé River is nearby:

The historic Quartier France is the core of the World Heritage area and has the greatest concentration of colonial buildings.

What to see

• Musée National du Costume (National Costume Museum): housed in the former Governor's Palace, completed in 1893, with collections of traditional dress, masks and ethnographic photographs. The palace itself is a landmark of colonial architecture, so a visit to the museum covers both the building and its collections.
• Sacred Heart Cathedral: built by the French in 1910 and restored in 2004, a prominent landmark in the old town.
• Colonial streetscapes: a stroll through the Quartier France reveals old houses with galleries and verandas, the architecture "designed for the tropical climate" that UNESCO describes.
• The old lighthouse: in the Petit-Paris neighbourhood.
• The Abissa festival: the N'zima people's annual festival, lasting about a week and usually held from late October to early November to honour the dead; worth experiencing if your timing fits.
• In addition, the wetlands around Grand-Bassam were designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance in 2005.

One line for Asian readers

If you have just one free day in Abidjan, Grand-Bassam is the easiest trip to make and the best place to understand Côte d'Ivoire's modern history.

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References: UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Historic Town of Grand-Bassam; Wikipedia: Grand-Bassam; Wikipedia: Historic Town of Grand-Bassam; Wikivoyage (Italian): Grand-Bassam