The Best Things to Do in Accra

Accra is not a museum city — it's a living one. Give it three days and it will give you back a hundred stories. These are the essentials.

The icons

1. Black Star Square & Independence Arch — the monumental heart of the nation, site of every major national celebration
2. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park — the mausoleum of the independence leader, and the best history briefing in the city
3. Jamestown — the oldest quarter: the lighthouse, colonial-era boxing gyms, and the fishing beach where the community's life plays out in public
4. Makola Market — chaotic, loud, and utterly unmissable; the commercial engine of the city in one square kilometre

The culture

5. Osu's galleries and boutiques — contemporary Ghanaian art and design
6. A drumming or dance workshop — an hour with a teacher in Nungua or Osu teaches more than a week of sightseeing
7. The coffin makers of Teshie — Ghana's famous fantasy coffins, carved as fish, cars and Bibles

The food

8. Waakye at a Saturday morning street stall
9. Grilled tilapia & banku by the sea in the evening
10. Chop bar groundnut soup with fufu or omo tuo
11. Kelewele — spiced fried plantain — from any roadside seller after dark

The beaches

12. Laboma Beach — the locals' favourite, quieter than Labadi
13. Kokrobite — a fishing village vibe thirty minutes west, with weekend reggae nights

Day trips

14. Aburi Botanical Gardens and the craft towns of the Akwapim hills — ninety minutes away
15. Ada Foah, where the Volta meets the ocean — a resort day on the water

Practical notes

Traffic is real; use Bolt (the local ride-hailing app) rather than self-driving on your first visit. Evenings are lively and Osu is walkable, but take the same precautions you would in any large city after dark.

Our Discover section maps all of these — with prices, hours and honest notes on each one.