Things to Do in Ivory Coast in March

A serene escape that explores the intricate waterways of the southern coast. You glide silently in a pirogue, passing dense mangrove forests. The calls of kingfishers pierce the humid air. Muddy banks show the scuttling tracks of crabs. This journey reveals a working landscape where fishermen cast their nets in dappled light and villages of stilted houses appear like mirages above the still, tea-colored water.

Plunges you into the sensory overload of the Plateau district, the country's economic heart. Your ears fill with competing beats of coupé-décalé music and the honk of yellow taxis in gridlocked streets. Animated French of traders closing deals surrounds you. You will smell the potent aroma of strong coffee from a street-side vendor. Feel the shade of towering skyscrapers like the twisting Pyramide, then it gives way to open, busy markets.

Finds the raw, creative pulse of Abidjan, looking beyond the glass-and-steel facades. This might lead you through the animated labyrinth of the Adjame market, where the air is thick with the smell of dried fish and spices, or into the murals and converted warehouses of the Blockhaus district, where you can hear the experimental sounds of a new Ivorian music scene.

Tailors the large metropolis to your curiosity, moving at your own pace. Go from the cathedral-like silence of the St. Paul's Cathedral interior to the cacophonous energy of a maquis at lunchtime. You can request to stand before the monumental frescoes in the National Museum, feel the textured fabrics in a Treichville textile shop, or simply pause to watch the fishing pirogues return to the Vridi Canal as the afternoon light turns the Atlantic a deep gold.

Connects you to tangible history and living crafts in Ivory Coast's first colonial capital. You will walk the sandy, shaded streets of the old French quarter, passing buildings with peeling ochre paint and ornate wrought-iron balconies. Feel the cool Atlantic breeze carry the smell of salt and seaweed. The tour typically includes a hands-on session with local artisans, where you might feel the smooth grain of a wooden mask or learn the steps to create lively wax-print patterns.

A pilgrimage to a site of staggering scale and surreal contrast. It emerges from the flat savannah, its gilded cross and vast dome dominating the horizon. Inside, the silence is profound, broken only by the echo of your footsteps on Italian marble. Stand beneath a stained-glass rose window that bathes the nave in kaleidoscopic color, a world away from the quiet streets of the presidential city outside.