Today I want to share my guide to things to do in Saint-Louis, Senegal with you. Saint-Louis is on the northwestern coast of the country on the Senegal River. Just a few kilometers from the border with Mauritania, the city is the former colonial capital of Senegal and—as my nose would shortly learn—an important fishing city.
Things to Do in Saint-Louis, Senegal
After arriving in Senegal from Bamako, my boyfriend and I spent a night in Dakar. The next morning, we hired a driver for the four-hour journey from Dakar to Saint-Louis.
The traffic getting out of Dakar was bad despite the fact that we were told leaving at 8am would allow us to escape it.
Once we were out of the capital, it was a long, flat journey through colorful villages, small towns, and vast stretches of land filled with bulbous baobab trees.
Where to Stay in Saint-Louis, Senegal
We arrived in Saint-Louis just after noon, and checked into our lodging, the Hotel Mermoz. Located four kilometers down a peninsular beach from the center of the city, the hotel was a sandy oasis of peace.
Walk on the Beach in Saint-Louis, Senegal
We had a quick lunch of crab sandwiches and croque monsieurs on the beach (eating was one of my favorite things to do in Saint-Louis, Senegal), then started walking up to the city.
The first stretch was picturesque; huge colorful fishing pirogues lined the beach while goats trawled the coastal garbage deposits for food.
Children ran out from the dusty streets on the opposite side to say bonjour and watch the foreigners stroll by.
Go to the Fish Market in Saint-Louis, Senegal
As we progressed, the smell of dead fish grew from a faint odor to a stench. We had reached the commercial fish market, the economic heart of the city.
Seeing the fish market is one of the main things to do in Saint-Louis, Senegal, and we looked forward to it.
The number of pirogues multiplied, and everywhere there were tables with drying sardines, iced baskets full of silvery fish, and trucks leaking streams of bloody water into the streets.
There were caleches, or horse-drawn carts, piled high with baskets, and men and women with crates of fish balanced on the tops of their heads.
We weaved our way through crowds of people in brightly-colored clothing and sloshed through the black sludge and fish heads that carpeted the street.
Despite the smell and the obstacles in our way, we found the market a fascinating place to explore.
Explore the Old Town in Saint-Louis, Senegal
Eventually we made our way through the bustle and into the old town, crossing the Faidherbe Bridge, which was designed by Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame, to get to the heart of the 18th-century colonial city on N’Dar Island.
I had a feeling seeing the colorful buildings there would be one of my favorite things to do in Saint-Louis, Senegal. It was.
When we arrived in the old town, we stopped by a hotel to get a bottle of water and consult the Internet for the best places to see in Saint-Louis.
Unfortunately, everything we read lamented the lack of anything interesting to do in the city. Undeterred, we decided to wander around Saint-Louis to see what we could find.
We visited the historic Hotel de la Poste and walked to see the 18th-century cathedral and the Governor’s Palace in Place Faidherbe (the palace was disappointingly hidden behind a large tree).
From there we meandered through the streets to admire the French colonial buildings in their multicolored splendor.
Go to the Beach
When we’d covered the main things to do in Saint-Louis, Senegal, we walked back to our hotel along the beach in order to avoid the fish market.
The first stretch was full of discarded fish heads, grazing goats, giant cockroaches, stray cats and dogs, boys playing soccer, and bundles of green fishing nets.
The back of the market was awash in thick black smoke punctuated by the colorful dresses of the female workers.
The beach finally broke out into a wide stretch of white sand that reminded me of what most beaches must have looked like before the days of mega-resorts.
We had the natural beauty of the thin peninsula almost entirely to ourselves as we meandered back to the hotel.
Eat Poulet Yassa
Our evening was spent enjoying a leisurely dinner of poulet yassa, a delicious local dish of chicken in a sauce of onions and lemon. The restaurant at Hotel Mermoz served up some of the best food we’d eaten on our trip to Africa.
Go to the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary
The next morning was another early one. We were out of our room at 8am and on our way up to the Parc national des oiseaux du Djoudj, or Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary.
Located just south of the border with Mauritania, the park is famous for its migrating white pelican population and came highly recommended by a friend who used to live in Dakar.
She said it’s one of the best things to do in Saint-Louis, Senegal (or near it, anyway), and we knew we had to go.
After an hour of driving down a mix of paved and dirt roads, we arrived at the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary. There was a large lake there that was full of pelicans.
Swimming in big groups and diving simultaneously, they entertained us for a while as their full yellow beaks shivered with the movements of the large fish within.
We stood on the banks, watching the pelicans and the other waterfowl catching their breakfast. We were also visited by a passing band of warthogs, complete with a gaggle of adorable babies.
As if that wasn’t enough, we spotted two giant pythons hiding in the grass.
When our boat arrived, we set off on an 8.7-mile (14-kilometer) river safari through bird country. We spotted herons, spoonbills, cormorants, egrets, fish eagles, and a lot of other bird species.
When we reached the end of the route, we saw several crocodiles, some prehistoric-looking reptiles, and a seven-foot-long snake on the bank of the river.
We returned to Hotel Mermoz in Saint-Louis around 2pm, hungry and covered in a thick layer of dust.
We tucked into some excellent sandwiches at the beach bar, and spotted several translucent crabs and two giant tortoises while we ate.
Saint-Louis to Dakar
After lunch we relocated to the pool to relax before the drive back to Dakar, which took five long hours and left us exhausted.
We arrived at our hotel, washed the dust and grime off ourselves, and headed downstairs for dinner.
The hotel restaurant was serving a special Valentine’s Day menu, which we promptly discarded in favor of two portions of poulet yassa and a beer.
Best Things to Do in Saint-Louis, Senegal
Tomorrow we’re hoping to sleep in for the first time in a few days. Rested and re-energized, we’ll start exploring more of the bustling city of Dakar.
In the meantime, we’ll go to sleep tonight dreaming of all the amazing things to do in Saint-Louis, Senegal.
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